Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Alphabet Inc. has received an average analyst rating of "Moderate Buy", with 17 analysts issuing buy recommendations and 3 advising a sell.
• Insider trading activity has been notable, with CEO Sundar Pichai selling 32,500 shares while insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares, both indicating a decrease in their stock ownership.
• Alphabet announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, contributing to an annualized return of 0.4%, reflecting a dividend payout ratio of 8.95%.

Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the thirty-one analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation, seventeen have issued a buy recommendation and five have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $215.1875.

Several analysts have recently commented on GOOG shares. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Needham & Company LLC downgraded shares of Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Tigress Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Susquehanna restated a "positive" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, May 2nd.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total transaction of $4,637,754.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at $8,371,905.30. This trade represents a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.92, for a total transaction of $6,497,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,462,392 shares of the company's stock, valued at $492,281,408.64. This represents a 1.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 254,719 shares of company stock worth $47,223,172. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 111.8% during the first quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 161 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 400.0% in the second quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Robbins Farley boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 60.0% in the second quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 160 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, WestEnd Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 58.7% in the second quarter. WestEnd Advisors LLC now owns 165 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 3.0%

Alphabet stock opened at $206.72 on Friday. Alphabet has a 1-year low of $142.66 and a 1-year high of $209.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.50 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.02. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $187.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $174.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.67 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.89 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.95%.

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.

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