Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Down 1.9% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) shares dropped by 1.9% to $198.54 as of the latest trading, with a significant decrease in trading volume.
• Analysts have varying opinions on Alphabet, with five giving it a Strong Buy and a consensus price target of $215.19, despite some downgrades from other firms.
• Alphabet reported $96.43 billion in revenue during its last quarterly earnings, exceeding estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share to be paid on September 15th.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 1.9% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $197.90 and last traded at $198.54. Approximately 5,133,106 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 23,737,408 shares. The stock had previously closed at $202.49.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Citizens Jmp upgraded Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $171.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup restated a "sell" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, BNP Paribas cut Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Five 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.19.

Alphabet Trading Down 1.0%

The stock has a market cap of $2.43 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.02. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $186.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $174.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.67 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. Alphabet's revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Alphabet's payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total value of $4,637,754.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. This trade represents a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total transaction of $2,786,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 240,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $44,656,704. This represents a 5.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 242,319 shares of company stock valued at $44,243,272. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Monarch Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Monarch Capital Management Inc. now owns 39,631 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $7,030,000 after acquiring an additional 1,077 shares during the last quarter. North Dallas Bank & Trust Co. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $348,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 41,068 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $7,285,000 after acquiring an additional 1,773 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 23.8% in the second quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 112,603 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $19,975,000 after buying an additional 21,667 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hohimer Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 3.1% during the second quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,487 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $796,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Company Profile

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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