Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Hits New 1-Year High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Alphabet Inc. reached a new 52-week high of $212.22 during trading, finishing at $211.64, with significant trading volume of over 32 million shares.
• Brokerages have issued positive ratings, with price targets ranging from $190 to $235, underscoring a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for the stock.
• Alphabet recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 0.4%, with insider trading showing significant shares sold in recent months.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $212.22 and last traded at $211.64, with a volume of 32311202 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $207.48.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOGL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. JMP Securities boosted their price target on Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $211.79.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $192.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $174.41.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.16. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The firm had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.60 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is 8.95%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the business'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 sale, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. The trade was a 35.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.92, for a total transaction of $6,497,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,462,392 shares in the company, valued at $492,281,408.64. The trade was a 1.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 222,210 shares of company stock worth $41,742,155. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GOOGL. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 242.9% during the 1st quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. von Borstel & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 85.7% in the first quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Gravity Companies Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet during the second quarter valued at $31,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.