Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Down 0.1% - Here's Why

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report)'s stock price dropped 0.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $165.40 and last traded at $166.68. Approximately 7,485,519 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 62% from the average daily volume of 19,591,621 shares. The stock had previously closed at $166.81.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on GOOG. Scotiabank cut their price target on Alphabet from $232.00 to $200.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Susquehanna restated a "positive" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Alphabet from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC downgraded Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $203.94.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $160.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $176.79. The company has a market capitalization of $2.02 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.79. The company had revenue of $90.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.30 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. The firm's revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.89 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total transaction of $33,106.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,813 shares in the company, valued at $1,293,285.89. This represents a 2.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.56, for a total value of $5,153,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,717,696 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $430,917,877.76. The trade was a 1.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 179,324 shares of company stock worth $30,153,353. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GOOG. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC raised its position 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 bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter worth about $32,000. 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.

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