Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Trading 1.2% Higher - Here's What Happened

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 1.2% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $177.67 and last traded at $176.83. 4,666,307 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 20,331,689 shares. The stock had previously closed at $174.71.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Susquehanna restated a "positive" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup reaffirmed a "sell" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Westpark Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and set a $171.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $204.88.

Alphabet Trading Down 0.7%

The company has a market capitalization of $2.17 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.21, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84. The business's 50-day moving average price is $162.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $176.20.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.79. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. The firm had revenue of $90.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.89 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. This is a boost from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is presently 9.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 673 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.33, for a total value of $104,537.09. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 15,303 shares in the company, valued at $2,377,014.99. The trade was a 4.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total value of $33,106.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,813 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,293,285.89. This represents a 2.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 195,770 shares of company stock worth $32,036,638. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 111.8% in the first quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 161 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the first quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet during the first quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company's stock.

About Alphabet

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.