Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Trading Down 0.2% - Time to Sell?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report)'s stock price dropped 0.2% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $163.13 and last traded at $165.75. Approximately 3,347,294 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 19,097,815 shares. The stock had previously closed at $166.05.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOG has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "sell" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Benchmark reissued a "negative" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Needham & Company LLC cut Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $203.94.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The company's fifty day simple moving average is $161.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $177.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.90 trillion, a P/E ratio of 19.43, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $90.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $89.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.89 earnings per share. Alphabet's quarterly revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. This is a boost from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.16, for a total value of $5,075,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,685,196 shares in the company, valued at $419,320,207.36. This trade represents a 1.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 7,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,293,285.89. This trade represents a 2.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 146,824 shares of company stock worth $25,086,603 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of GOOG. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 111.8% during the 1st quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 161 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Goodman Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by 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.