Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Key Points

• Alphabet Inc. experienced a 22.7% decline in short interest in August, leading to a total of 31,060,000 shares shorted by the end of the month.
• Analysts have mixed reviews on Alphabet, with ratings that include four Strong Buy, eighteen Buy, five Hold, and three Sell, resulting in an average rating of "Moderate Buy."
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, with a dividend yield of 0.3% and a payout ratio of 8.95%.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 31,060,000 shares, a decline of 22.7% from the August 15th total of 40,160,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 25,350,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.2 days. Approximately 0.3% of the company's stock are short sold. Approximately 0.3% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 25,350,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.2 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on GOOG. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Phillip Securities lowered shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. KeyCorp set a $265.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 price target (up from $235.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $227.56.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.73, for a total transaction of $7,466,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,429,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at $558,219,089.16. This trade represents a 1.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total transaction of $4,637,754.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. This represents a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 225,588 shares of company stock worth $44,296,554 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in GOOG. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 120,253 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $22,901,000 after acquiring an additional 6,410 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its position in Alphabet by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 506,535 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $96,465,000 after purchasing an additional 20,855 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its position in Alphabet by 23,308.0% during the fourth quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 285,812 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $54,430,000 after purchasing an additional 284,591 shares in the last quarter. Windsor Advisory Group LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 72.6% during the fourth quarter. Windsor Advisory Group LLC now owns 416 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Willis Johnson & Associates Inc. grew its position in Alphabet by 60.4% during the fourth quarter. Willis Johnson & Associates Inc. now owns 5,329 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,015,000 after purchasing an additional 2,006 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.1%

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $251.42 on Wednesday. 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 company's 50 day simple moving average is $205.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $179.98. Alphabet has a 12 month low of $142.66 and a 12 month high of $253.23. The company has a market capitalization of $3.04 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.78, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet's payout ratio is currently 8.95%.

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.

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