Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.19 EPS

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) issued its earnings results on Wednesday. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.19, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.67 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS.

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOG traded up $0.88 on Friday, reaching $194.08. 31,074,800 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 27,020,362. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The company's 50-day moving average price is $176.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $174.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.36 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.67, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.01. Alphabet has a fifty-two week low of $142.66 and a fifty-two week high of $208.70.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th will be given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's payout ratio is 8.95%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.52, for a total transaction of $5,801,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,559,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $456,991,919.84. The trade was a 1.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total transaction of $3,448,820.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 243,400 shares in the company, valued at $45,213,984. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 249,409 shares of company stock worth $43,523,710 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Alphabet stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 120,253 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 6,410 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises about 0.7% of Brighton Jones LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Brighton Jones LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $22,901,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $171.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, April 25th. Roth Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Needham & Company LLC downgraded Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays restated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Lake Street Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.19.

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.