Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Down 2.1% – Time to Sell?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s share price was down 2.1% on Friday . The company traded as low as $192.07 and last traded at $193.03. Approximately 4,007,834 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 19,714,412 shares. The stock had previously closed at $197.10.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays increased their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Phillip Securities raised Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, DA Davidson raised shares of Alphabet to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $200.56.

Alphabet Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $178.61 and a 200-day moving average of $173.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.35 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.51, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.39 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The company’s revenue was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.55 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 10.61%.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.07, for a total transaction of $3,759,075.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,129,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $355,743,153.42. The trade was a 1.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,834 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.55, for a total value of $559,856.70. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,085,531.55. This trade represents a 12.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 161,455 shares of company stock valued at $28,462,960. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV grew its holdings in Alphabet by 2.0% during the second quarter. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV now owns 2,944 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $540,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Sunburst Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sunburst Financial Group LLC now owns 2,959 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $495,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Johnson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,360 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $395,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Phillips Financial Management LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 1.6% during the third quarter. Phillips Financial Management LLC now owns 3,852 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $644,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goodman Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 2.3% in the third quarter. Goodman Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,674 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $447,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.