Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Up 1.1% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Alphabet's shares increased by 1.1%, closing at $236.78, with trading volume significantly down compared to its average.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed outlooks, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and various target prices ranging from $210.00 to $300.00.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, signifying a 0.4% yield and reflecting strong financial performance with earnings surpassing analyst estimates.

Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) rose 1.1% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $237.22 and last traded at $236.78. Approximately 6,097,257 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 23,931,598 shares. The stock had previously closed at $234.16.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOG has been the subject of several research reports. Phillip Securities cut Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Alphabet from $232.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $210.00 target price (up from $185.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Pivotal Research upped their target price on Alphabet from $245.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, BNP Paribas cut Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $227.56.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.9%

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $197.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $177.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.89 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The stock was 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 owned 243,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $45,213,984. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,000 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $200,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,383,200. The trade was a 12.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 254,710 shares of company stock worth $49,208,380. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GOOG. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 120,253 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $22,901,000 after purchasing an additional 6,410 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its position in Alphabet by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 506,535 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $96,465,000 after acquiring an additional 20,855 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 54,455 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $10,370,000 after acquiring an additional 1,470 shares during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP increased its position in Alphabet by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 23,331 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $4,443,000 after acquiring an additional 1,241 shares during the period. Finally, Lionshead Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $487,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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