Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock Price Up 1.4% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Shares rose about 1.4% to roughly $300 in mid-day trading, though volume was light at ~15.8M shares (down 54% from average).
• Multiple analysts raised price targets (e.g., Citigroup to $390, Mizuho to $410) and the stock carries a consensus Moderate Buy rating with an average target of $367.33.
• Alphabet posted an earnings beat—Q EPS $2.82 vs. $2.57 estimate and revenue $113.83B vs. $111.24B—while reporting strong margins and declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.21 (0.3% yield).

Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) rose 1.4% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $300.62 and last traded at $299.99. Approximately 15,809,406 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 54% from the average daily volume of 34,012,340 shares. The stock had previously closed at $295.77.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on GOOGL shares. Citigroup raised their target price on Alphabet from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Alphabet from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a "buy" rating and set a $395.00 price target (up from $346.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $367.33.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.4%

The stock has a market cap of $3.63 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $309.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $296.92.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $113.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.24 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.81% and a return on equity of 35.01%. As a group, analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is 7.77%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.41, for a total value of $318,580.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,631 shares in the company, valued at $1,405,091.71. This trade represents a 18.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder 2017 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 1,845,308 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.00, for a total value of $35,060,852.00. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,101,844 shares of company stock valued at $115,147,751. 11.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Symmetry Partners LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC now owns 7,912 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,476,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Members Trust Co increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Members Trust Co now owns 6,434 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,014,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. now owns 7,952 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,489,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Insight 2811 Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Insight 2811 Inc. now owns 3,124 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $978,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, LJI Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. LJI Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,265 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,274,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc is the holding company created in 2015 to organize Google and a portfolio of businesses developing technologies beyond Google's core internet services. Its principal operations are led by Google, which builds and operates consumer-facing products such as Google Search, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Gmail, Google Maps and Google Workspace, as well as advertising platforms (Google Ads and AdSense) that historically generate the majority of its revenue. Google also develops consumer hardware (Pixel phones, Nest smart-home devices, Chromecast) and developer and distribution platforms such as Google Play.

Beyond Google's consumer and advertising businesses, Alphabet invests in enterprise and infrastructure offerings through Google Cloud, which provides cloud computing, data analytics and productivity services to businesses and institutions.

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