Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Trading 1.8% Higher - What's Next?

Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) traded up 1.8% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $163.20 and last traded at $163.86. 5,651,126 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 19,152,770 shares. The stock had previously closed at $160.89.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on GOOG. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Alphabet from $209.00 to $173.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of Alphabet from $202.00 to $185.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $203.94.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.8 %

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 capitalization of $2.02 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $162.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $177.09.

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

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.36%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 1,340 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.08, for a total value of $270,787.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,848 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,606,723.84. This represents a 6.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of Alphabet 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 owns 7,813 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,293,285.89. The trade was a 2.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 148,164 shares of company stock valued at $25,357,390. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 111.8% during the first quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 161 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company's stock.

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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