Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Trading 0.1% Higher – What’s Next?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) shares traded up 0.1% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $169.48 and last traded at $169.23. 19,241,543 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 29% from the average session volume of 27,217,824 shares. The stock had previously closed at $169.12.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $217.00 to $208.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 14th. China Renaissance upgraded shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $217.00 price target (up previously from $215.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.90.

Alphabet Trading Down 0.2 %

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $168.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $170.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.07 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.41, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.85 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.55 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 10.61%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.78, for a total transaction of $1,898,190.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 330,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,741,643.48. This trade represents a 3.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.44, for a total transaction of $109,420.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,136,807.48. The trade was a 2.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 206,795 shares of company stock valued at $34,673,866. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GOOGL. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 75.0% in the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 140 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. LMR Partners LLP bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Denver PWM LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at about $53,000. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc offers various products and platforms in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia-Pacific, Canada, and Latin America. It operates through Google Services, Google Cloud, and Other Bets segments. The Google Services segment provides products and services, including ads, Android, Chrome, devices, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Photos, Google Play, Search, and YouTube.