Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Up 3.5% - What's Next?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 3.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $157.52 and last traded at $156.80. 10,173,739 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 64% from the average session volume of 28,239,880 shares. The stock had previously closed at $151.47.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wedbush set a $190.00 target price on shares of Alphabet and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Alphabet from $235.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Alphabet from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $198.63.

Alphabet Price Performance

The stock's 50-day moving average is $162.18 and its 200 day moving average is $175.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84. The company has a market cap of $1.97 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.12, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Alphabet's payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.16, for a total value of $5,075,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,685,196 shares in the company, valued at approximately $419,320,207.36. This represents a 1.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Ruth Porat sold 17,690 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.48, for a total transaction of $3,245,761.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,449,286 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $265,914,995.28. The trade was a 1.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 148,163 shares of company stock valued at $25,361,647. Insiders own 11.55% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GOOGL. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew its position in Alphabet by 518.8% during the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. PayPay Securities Corp grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 36.1% during the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 245 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Denver PWM LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 25.4% in the 3rd quarter. Denver PWM LLC now owns 281 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company's stock.

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.