Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Up 1.5% Following Strong Earnings

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 1.5% on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $198.97 and last traded at $194.41. Approximately 21,497,366 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 11% from the average daily volume of 24,047,357 shares. The stock had previously closed at $191.51.

The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.19. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The firm had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.89 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Tigress Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Citigroup restated a "sell" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citizens Jmp upgraded Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $215.19.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total value of $3,448,820.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 243,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,213,984. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.38, for a total transaction of $5,992,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,527,392 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $466,000,536.96. This represents a 1.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 249,409 shares of company stock worth $43,523,710. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 39.3% during the 4th quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,964 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $945,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky grew its position in Alphabet by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 14,907 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,329,000 after purchasing an additional 1,376 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Investment Services LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Harvest Investment Services LLC now owns 4,329 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $824,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 9,771 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,527,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Finally, jvl associates llc grew its position in Alphabet by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. jvl associates llc now owns 10,055 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,571,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $2.36 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $176.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $174.53.

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.