Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Stock Price Down 1% After Insider Selling

Key Points

• Alphabet shares slipped about 1% on heavy mid-day volume after insiders sold stock — CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 2,778 shares (~$800,786, a 19.14% reduction) and Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares (~$168,036).
• Analysts remain largely constructive: MarketBeat's consensus is a Moderate Buy with a $324.81 target, and several firms have raised price targets (Oppenheimer $345, BMO $340, HSBC $335).
• Alphabet posted a beat in the latest quarter (EPS $2.87 vs. $2.29 expected; revenue $102.35B, up 15.9% year-over-year) and announced a $0.21 quarterly dividend (0.3% yield).

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) traded down 1% during mid-day trading on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $289.17 and last traded at $289.98. 34,385,060 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 46% from the average session volume of 23,522,713 shares. The stock had previously closed at $292.99.

Specifically, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 2,778 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.26, for a total value of $800,786.28. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 11,739 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,383,884.14. This trade represents a 19.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 2,778 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.26, for a total transaction of $800,786.28. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 11,739 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,383,884.14. The trade was a 19.14% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.06, for a total value of $168,036.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,264,750.96. This trade represents a 11.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on GOOG. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Alphabet from $210.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $340.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Loop Capital raised shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. HSBC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $335.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $300.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $324.81.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.0%

The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $260.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $212.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.50 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The information services provider reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.29 by $0.58. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.23% and a return on equity of 36.08%. The firm had revenue of $102.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $99.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.12 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is 8.28%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GOOG. Morse Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 1,093 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Robinson Smith Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 1.8% in the third quarter. Robinson Smith Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,070 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $504,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Searle & CO. raised its stake in Alphabet by 0.6% during the third quarter. Searle & CO. now owns 5,703 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,389,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. lifted its position in Alphabet by 0.6% during the third quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 5,846 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,424,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BankPlus Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 1.2% during the third quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,143 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $766,000 after purchasing an additional 37 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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