Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Trading Down 1.3% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) shares fell by 1.3% during mid-day trading, with the stock last recorded at $201.55, down from a previous close of $204.29.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, to be paid on September 15th, representing an annualized yield of 0.4%.
• Alphabet's latest earnings report showed an EPS of $2.31, exceeding analysts' expectations, alongside a revenue increase of 13.8% year-over-year, totaling $96.43 billion.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) fell 1.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $201.00 and last traded at $201.55. 4,385,511 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 23,796,129 shares. The stock had previously closed at $204.29.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Susquehanna reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and set a $171.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC lowered shares of Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Roth Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.19.

Alphabet Trading Down 1.1%

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $185.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $174.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. The firm has a market cap of $2.44 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.02.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. 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 return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%.The business had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.89 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total value of $4,637,754.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at $8,371,905.30. This trade represents a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.23, for a total value of $6,377,475.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,494,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $489,572,657.16. This trade represents a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 274,819 shares of company stock valued at $49,796,547. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 39.3% in 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 during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 10.2% during the first quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 14,907 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,329,000 after acquiring an additional 1,376 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Investment Services LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Harvest Investment Services LLC now owns 4,329 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $824,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 2.7% in the first quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 9,771 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,527,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the period. Finally, jvl associates llc boosted its stake in Alphabet by 3.5% in the first quarter. jvl associates llc now owns 10,055 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,571,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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