Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Trading 2.1% Higher - Time to Buy?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) was up 2.1% during trading on Wednesday . The company 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on GOOG. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $232.00 to $200.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Needham & Company LLC downgraded shares of Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday. KeyCorp cut their price objective on Alphabet from $202.00 to $185.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Alphabet from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and six have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $207.63.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.17 trillion, a PE ratio of 19.92, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.01. The business's 50 day moving average is $170.87 and its 200 day moving average is $175.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

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

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th were paid a $0.21 dividend. This is a positive change from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.36%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.52, for a total value of $5,801,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,559,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at $456,991,919.84. This trade represents a 1.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 9,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $1,575,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 255,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $44,695,000. This trade represents a 3.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 215,643 shares of company stock worth $36,330,928. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 111.8% in the 1st quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 161 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Alphabet in the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently 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.