Insider Selling: Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Director Sells 121 Shares of Stock

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Director Frances Arnold sold 121 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.30, for a total transaction of $20,606.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,938 shares in the company, valued at $2,884,541.40. This trade represents a 0.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Frances Arnold also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, January 30th, Frances Arnold sold 110 shares of Alphabet stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $22,000.00.
• On Tuesday, December 31st, Frances Arnold sold 111 shares of Alphabet stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.49, for a total transaction of $21,366.39.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GOOGL traded up $0.95 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $169.45. 28,130,399 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 28,432,010. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $191.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $176.06. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $130.66 and a one year high of $207.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.07 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. Analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 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, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on GOOGL. DZ Bank downgraded Alphabet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $198.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. KeyCorp increased their target price on Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $210.62.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. LMR Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. increased its position in Alphabet by 518.8% during the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 36.1% during the fourth quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 245 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 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.