Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Director John L. Hennessy Sells 600 Shares

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $105,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,813 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,192,275. This represents a 8.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Alphabet Trading Down 1.4%

NASDAQ GOOGL traded down $2.40 during trading on Friday, hitting $168.47. The stock had a trading volume of 35,166,008 shares, compared to its average volume of 29,660,552. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.04 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $140.53 and a one year high of $207.05. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $158.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $174.89.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.79. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. The firm had revenue of $76.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.89 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Alphabet's payout ratio is currently 9.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $189.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Alphabet from $235.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $199.75.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 242.9% during the 1st quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. von Borstel & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, NBZ Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 85.7% during the first quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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