Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Down 1.3% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Alphabet's shares dropped 1.3% to around $241.53, trading volumes fell by 25% compared to average levels.
• Several analysts have issued varying ratings: DA Davidson upgraded to a "neutral" rating, while Citigroup raised the price target to $280 with a "buy" rating.
• Alphabet recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, indicating a modest dividend yield of 0.3%.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report)'s share price fell 1.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $239.15 and last traded at $241.53. 26,991,371 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 25% from the average session volume of 36,191,922 shares. The stock had previously closed at $244.62.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on GOOGL. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $225.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $244.62.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.92 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $225.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $188.04.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.60 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is 8.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.44, for a total value of $149,664.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 5,716 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,425,799.04. This trade represents a 9.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 103 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.13, for a total value of $25,042.39. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 17,284 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,202,258.92. The trade was a 0.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 276,738 shares of company stock valued at $59,135,475 over the last three months. Insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 242.9% during the first quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. von Borstel & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter valued at $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter valued at $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 85.7% during the first quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the second quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors own 40.03% 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.

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