Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Stock Price Up 2.1% - Time to Buy?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report)'s stock price was up 2.1% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $180.28 and last traded at $178.76. Approximately 9,625,498 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 55% from the average daily volume of 21,218,448 shares. The stock had previously closed at $175.16.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on GOOG shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a "sell" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Roth Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday. Rosenblatt Securities upgraded Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $202.00 to $185.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and six have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $207.13.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.5%

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $171.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $175.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 1.77. The firm has a market cap of $2.20 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.79. The firm had revenue of $90.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.30 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 30.86% and a return on equity of 34.54%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.89 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th were given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.36%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 9,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $1,575,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 255,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,695,000. The trade was a 3.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $105,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,813 shares in the company, valued at $1,192,275. The trade was a 8.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 215,643 shares of company stock valued at $36,330,928 over the last three months. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $945,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky lifted its stake in Alphabet by 10.2% in the first 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 boosted its position in Alphabet by 3.3% during 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 period. North Forty Two & Co. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at about $281,000. Finally, Fermata Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.7% in the first quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 9,771 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,527,000 after buying an additional 259 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.