Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Down 1.8% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Alphabet shares fell 1.8% on Monday, trading down to about $314.49 intraday on volume of ~39.1M shares (≈6% above average) from a prior close of $320.18.
• Wall Street consensus is a “Moderate Buy” with an average target of $308.73, though several firms have raised targets well above that (e.g., BNP Paribas Exane $355, Guggenheim $375, Wedbush $320).
• Alphabet beat Q3 estimates (EPS $2.87 vs. $2.29; revenue $102.35B vs. $99.90B), declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21/share (annualized $0.84, yield 0.3%), and insiders sold roughly 225,072 shares (~$58M) over the last quarter.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report)'s share price fell 1.8% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $313.89 and last traded at $314.4860. 39,121,719 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 6% from the average session volume of 36,794,258 shares. The stock had previously closed at $320.18.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on GOOGL. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, November 24th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $355.00 target price on the stock. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $320.00 price objective (up previously from $245.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. CIBC raised their target price on shares of Alphabet to $315.00 in a report on Monday, October 20th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $375.00 target price (up from $330.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Alphabet from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-one have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $308.73.

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 $3.79 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.05. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $269.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $219.56.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.29 by $0.58. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.23% and a return on equity of 36.08%. The company had revenue of $102.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.90 billion. Analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,816 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.42, for a total value of $4,408,034.72. Following the transaction, the insider owned 42,985 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,635,348.70. The trade was a 29.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 2,778 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.05, for a total value of $694,638.90. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 14,516 shares in the company, valued at $3,629,725.80. The trade was a 16.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 225,072 shares of company stock valued at $58,074,027. 11.64% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 85.7% in 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. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 36.4% in the 2nd quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 251 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter worth approximately $53,000. 40.03% of the stock is 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.

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