Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) rose 1.9% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $211.86 and last traded at $212.22. Approximately 6,136,077 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 23,560,748 shares. The stock had previously closed at $208.21.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $210.00 price objective (up previously from $185.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Tigress Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Susquehanna reaffirmed a "positive" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $186.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $215.19.
View Our Latest Stock Report on Alphabet
Alphabet Price Performance
The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $189.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $175.22. The company has a market cap of $2.57 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.02.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts' expectations of $93.67 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Alphabet Announces Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be paid 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 8.95%.
Insider Activity at Alphabet
In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 35.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total transaction of $3,448,820.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 243,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,213,984. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 254,719 shares of company stock worth $47,223,172. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Institutional Trading of Alphabet
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. 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 buying an additional 85 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Robbins Farley boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WestEnd Advisors LLC grew 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 valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
About Alphabet
(
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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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