Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Alphabet Inc. has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from 31 analysts, with 17 recommending buy and 3 recommending sell.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, reporting $2.31 EPS against an estimated $2.12, with revenues reaching $96.43 billion.
• Alphabet announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21, set to be paid on September 15th, representing an annualized yield of 0.43%.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the thirty-one research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment 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 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $215.19.

Several brokerages have weighed in on GOOG. Scotiabank increased their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. BNP Paribas downgraded Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Rosenblatt Securities raised shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total value of $3,448,820.16. Following the sale, the director owned 243,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $45,213,984. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.98, for a total value of $72,792.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,013 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,094,245.74. This represents a 6.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 249,399 shares of company stock valued at $43,525,794 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 39.3% during the fourth quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,964 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $945,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 10.2% in the first quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 14,907 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,329,000 after acquiring an additional 1,376 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Investment Services LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Harvest Investment Services LLC now owns 4,329 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $824,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 2.7% in the first quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 9,771 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,527,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Finally, jvl associates llc boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 3.5% in the first quarter. jvl associates llc now owns 10,055 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,571,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Alphabet stock traded down $2.91 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $189.95. 21,082,839 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 24,310,764. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $178.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $174.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.31 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.01. Alphabet has a 1 year low of $142.66 and a 1 year high of $208.70.

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

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.