Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock Price Down 0.1% - Should You Sell?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) was down 0.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $163.96 and last traded at $165.15. Approximately 9,714,560 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 28,906,386 shares. The stock had previously closed at $165.37.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on GOOGL shares. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $235.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price objective (down previously from $230.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $199.75.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The firm's 50-day moving average price is $158.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $175.01. The stock has a market cap of $2.02 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.64, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $76.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $89.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.89 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share 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 given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. This is a boost from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Alphabet's payout ratio is currently 9.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 2,824 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.43, for a total transaction of $529,302.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 15,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,815,948.32. The trade was a 15.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.56, for a total transaction of $5,153,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,717,696 shares of the company's stock, valued at $430,917,877.76. The trade was a 1.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 179,324 shares of company stock worth $30,153,353. Insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in GOOGL. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Alphabet by 242.9% in the first quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. von Borstel & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet in the first quarter worth about $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, NBZ Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is 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.