Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Down 0.8% – Here’s What Happened

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s stock price dropped 0.8% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $152.63 and last traded at $155.04. Approximately 5,686,963 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 28,137,240 shares. The stock had previously closed at $156.31.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOGL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $178.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Alphabet from $215.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Alphabet from $235.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $203.51.

Alphabet Trading Down 1.9 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.87 trillion, a P/E ratio of 19.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $167.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $176.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its earnings results 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.94%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 673 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.33, for a total value of $104,537.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 15,303 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,377,014.99. The trade was a 4.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,690 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.51, for a total transaction of $3,281,671.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 43,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,997,521.61. This trade represents a 29.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 115,663 shares of company stock valued at $20,286,447 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 518.8% in the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. PayPay Securities Corp raised its holdings 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 period. Finally, Denver PWM LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 25.4% in the third quarter. Denver PWM LLC now owns 281 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. 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.