Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock Price Down 1% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Alphabet's stock price decreased by 1% to $244.05, with trading volume dropping 12% compared to its average session volume.
• Multiple brokerages have increased their target prices for GOOGL; Oppenheimer raised theirs from $235.00 to $270.00, while Needham & Company increased theirs to $260.00.
• Alphabet announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21, representing a 0.3% yield, following a strong earnings report that exceeded analysts' expectations with a revenue of $96.43 billion.

Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) fell 1% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $242.77 and last traded at $244.05. 32,335,200 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 12% from the average session volume of 36,579,031 shares. The stock had previously closed at $246.54.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on GOOGL. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 target price (up from $235.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-three have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $233.44.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The company's 50-day moving average price is $215.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $183.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.95 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.99, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.60 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th were given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.95%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total transaction of $4,637,754.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,371,905.30. This trade represents a 35.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.44, for a total transaction of $149,664.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,716 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,425,799.04. This trade represents a 9.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 257,866 shares of company stock worth $52,363,610. 11.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Beddow Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.0% during the second quarter. Beddow Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,510 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $445,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Gimbal Financial grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.9% during the second quarter. Gimbal Financial now owns 2,776 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $489,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.3% during the second quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 16,916 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,981,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Silver Coast Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.3% during the second quarter. Silver Coast Investments LLC now owns 4,317 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $761,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, North Berkeley Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.3% during the second quarter. North Berkeley Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,200 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $740,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by 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.

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