Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Up 1.1% - Here's Why

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) shares rose 1.1% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $172.36 and last traded at $171.24. Approximately 7,158,172 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 20,243,757 shares. The stock had previously closed at $169.39.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Alphabet from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Susquehanna reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities raised Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC lowered Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Alphabet from $232.00 to $200.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $204.88.

Alphabet Price Performance

The company's fifty day moving average price is $161.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $176.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market cap of $2.12 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.73, 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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.79. The firm had revenue of $90.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.30 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.89 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This is a boost from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.36%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total transaction of $33,106.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,813 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,293,285.89. This trade represents a 2.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.71, for a total transaction of $5,483,075.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,587,696 shares of the company's stock, valued at $436,570,192.16. The trade was a 1.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 195,770 shares of company stock valued at $32,036,638. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of GOOG. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 111.8% in 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 valued at about $26,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet during the first quarter worth $32,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.