Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the forty-two research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $199.95.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GOOGL. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Alphabet from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Bank of America increased their target price on Alphabet from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Citizens Jmp raised shares of Alphabet from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $220.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $180.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane restated a "neutral" rating and set a $172.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, June 27th.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOGL traded up $2.55 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $178.39. The stock had a trading volume of 19,011,627 shares, compared to its average volume of 31,408,121. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.16 trillion, a PE ratio of 19.88, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.77. Alphabet has a 12 month low of $140.53 and a 12 month high of $207.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $167.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $174.17.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.79. Alphabet had a net margin of 30.86% and a return on equity of 34.54%. The business had revenue of $76.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.30 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Alphabet will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th were paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Alphabet's payout ratio is 9.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $105,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,813 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,192,275. This represents a 8.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $1,575,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 255,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $44,695,000. The trade was a 3.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 183,143 shares of company stock worth $30,529,028 over the last ninety days. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GOOGL. HBW Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 28,683 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $5,055,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division raised its holdings in Alphabet by 0.5% during the second quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 85,861 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $15,131,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 95,634 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $16,853,000 after acquiring an additional 1,591 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.9% in the second quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 172,030 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $30,317,000 after purchasing an additional 3,138 shares during the period. Finally, First National Bank Sioux Falls increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.6% during the second quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 12,321 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,171,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.