Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Up 0.6% – Here’s Why

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s stock price rose 0.6% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $199.79 and last traded at $199.53. Approximately 4,931,719 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 22,358,213 shares. The stock had previously closed at $198.37.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GOOGL. Loop Capital lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Alphabet from $212.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Citizens Jmp downgraded Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $217.00 price objective (up previously from $215.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $209.44.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.1 %

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 business’s fifty day moving average is $186.46 and its 200-day moving average is $173.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.45 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.98.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $88.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.85 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.55 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,834 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $550,702.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,847 shares in the company, valued at $3,468,029.04. This trade represents a 13.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 441 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.06, for a total transaction of $75,437.46. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,820,779.40. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 133,387 shares of company stock valued at $24,368,654. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GOOGL. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC now owns 15,193 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,876,000 after buying an additional 1,911 shares during the period. Flavin Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth $529,000. Calamos Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 353,159 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $66,853,000 after purchasing an additional 2,007 shares in the last quarter. Patron Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 11,077 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,097,000 after purchasing an additional 818 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grunden Financial Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at about $227,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Company Profile

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.