Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Trading 0.8% Higher - Still a Buy?

Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) were up 0.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $159.94 and last traded at $159.66. Approximately 17,307,068 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 49% from the average daily volume of 34,219,012 shares. The stock had previously closed at $158.46.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on GOOGL. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. DZ Bank cut shares of Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $198.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price objective (down previously from $230.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their price target on Alphabet from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $199.75.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.1%

The company has a market capitalization of $2.01 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.53, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $158.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $175.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.79. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. The firm had revenue of $76.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $89.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.89 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Alphabet's payout ratio is 9.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,690 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.51, for a total value of $3,281,671.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 43,111 shares in the company, valued at $7,997,521.61. This trade represents a 29.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 2,824 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.43, for a total transaction of $529,302.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 15,024 shares in the company, valued at $2,815,948.32. This represents a 15.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 179,324 shares of company stock valued at $30,153,353 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. Optivise Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Optivise Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,464 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,035,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares during the period. Community Bank N.A. grew its holdings in Alphabet by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 46,173 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $8,741,000 after buying an additional 2,790 shares during the period. Premier Fund Managers Ltd increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 30.0% during the 4th quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 61,792 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $11,816,000 after acquiring an additional 14,262 shares during the last quarter. Absolute Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Absolute Capital Management LLC now owns 2,096 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $401,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the period. Finally, Permanent Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth approximately $273,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.