Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Sets New 12-Month High - What's Next?

Key Points

• Alphabet Inc. recently achieved a new 52-week high at $212.90, indicating strong market performance with over 20 million shares traded.
• The company reported quarterly earnings of $2.31 EPS, exceeding analysts' estimates, with revenue of $96.43 billion, marking a 13.8% year-over-year increase.
• A quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share was announced, representing a 0.4% yield, with an ex-dividend date of September 8th.

Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $212.90 and last traded at $212.37, with a volume of 20901394 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $208.21.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BNP Paribas cut shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $235.00 target price (up from $220.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Lake Street Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citizens Jmp raised shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Pivotal Research upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $215.19.

Alphabet Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $191.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $175.41. The company has a market capitalization of $2.58 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.79, for a total value of $122,274.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,316 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,287,137.64. The trade was a 8.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 42,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 254,710 shares of company stock valued at $47,225,230. Insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Robbins Farley boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WestEnd Advisors LLC boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

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.