Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Stock Price Down 1.6% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Alphabet shares fell about 1.6% on Monday to roughly $315.12 (intraday low $313.98) while volume rose to ~28.26M shares, an 18% increase versus its average daily trading volume.
• Q3 results beat expectations: Alphabet reported $2.87 EPS vs. $2.29 consensus and revenue of $102.35B (versus $99.90B expected), up 15.9% year-over-year with a 32.23% net margin.
• Analysts remain mostly positive—MarketBeat shows an average rating of Buy and an average price target of $307.22, with several firms raising targets (e.g., BofA to $335, Sanford C. Bernstein to $305).

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report)'s share price was down 1.6% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $313.98 and last traded at $315.12. Approximately 28,261,261 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 18% from the average daily volume of 23,902,207 shares. The stock had previously closed at $320.12.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Alphabet to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $280.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $307.22.

Alphabet Price Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $269.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $220.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. The firm has a market cap of $3.80 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 8th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 8th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet's payout ratio is currently 8.28%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 2,778 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.05, for a total value of $694,638.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 14,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,629,725.80. The trade was a 16.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,816 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.42, for a total value of $4,408,034.72. Following the sale, the insider owned 42,985 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,635,348.70. This represents a 29.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 227,850 shares of company stock valued at $58,874,814 in the last ninety days. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in GOOG. RDA Financial Network boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. RDA Financial Network now owns 11,094 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,968,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 1.4% during the second quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 170,020 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $30,160,000 after purchasing an additional 2,304 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 3.7% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,164,341 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $206,542,000 after buying an additional 42,028 shares in the last quarter. Oldfather Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet in the second quarter worth approximately $213,000. Finally, Tower View Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 6.9% in the second quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 27,644 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $4,904,000 after buying an additional 1,776 shares during the last quarter. 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.

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