Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Trading Up 1.5% – What’s Next?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) shot up 1.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $170.32 and last traded at $170.16. 6,406,866 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 25,875,971 shares. The stock had previously closed at $167.68.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on GOOGL shares. 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 research note on Friday, January 3rd. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $208.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $232.00 to $229.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $210.59.

Alphabet Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.07 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.10, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a fifty day moving average of $182.10 and a 200 day moving average of $176.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. Sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.94%.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,368 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.55, for a total value of $262,040.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,961,445.55. The trade was a 6.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ruth Porat sold 17,690 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.48, for a total transaction of $3,245,761.20. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,449,286 shares in the company, valued at $265,914,995.28. This trade represents a 1.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 93,048 shares of company stock valued at $17,374,274 in the last ninety days. 11.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. LMR Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 518.8% during the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp raised its position in Alphabet by 36.1% in the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 245 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $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.