Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Trading 1.2% Higher - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Alphabet's stock price increased by 1.2% to reach $255.24 during mid-day trading, with a notable trading volume rise of 71% compared to its average.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on the stock, with ratings ranging from "Strong Buy" to "Sell", and a consensus target price of $227.56.
• Alphabet declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, yielding 0.3%, reflecting a payout ratio of 8.95%.

Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) shot up 1.2% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $256.70 and last traded at $255.24. 41,158,922 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 71% from the average session volume of 24,020,281 shares. The stock had previously closed at $252.33.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GOOG. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Roth Capital reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Pivotal Research raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $245.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $227.56.

Alphabet Price Performance

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 company's 50-day simple moving average is $210.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $181.61. The company has a market cap of $3.09 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th were given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 2,778 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total transaction of $680,610.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 17,293 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,236,785. This trade represents a 13.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.50, for a total transaction of $8,108,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,397,392 shares of the company's stock, valued at $598,149,304. The trade was a 1.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 258,088 shares of company stock valued at $52,405,304. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GOOG. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 400.0% in the second quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Robbins Farley boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 60.0% in the second quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 160 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 111.8% in the first quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 161 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. WestEnd Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 58.7% in the second quarter. WestEnd Advisors LLC now owns 165 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet in the first quarter worth $26,000. 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.