Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Down 1.7% - Here's Why

Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) fell 1.7% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $168.65 and last traded at $169.93. 8,232,631 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 59% from the average session volume of 20,194,134 shares. The stock had previously closed at $172.85.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on Alphabet from $232.00 to $200.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday. Tigress Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Susquehanna restated a "positive" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $204.88.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The company's 50-day moving average is $161.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $176.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market cap of $2.04 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 9,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $1,575,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 255,400 shares in the company, valued at $44,695,000. This trade represents a 3.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the company's 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 sale, the director now owns 6,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,192,275. This represents a 8.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 163,270 shares of company stock valued at $26,553,563 over the last ninety days. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 111.8% in the first quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 161 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth $32,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.