Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock Price Up 9% After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Alphabet's stock surged by 9% after the Royal Bank of Canada raised its price target from $220 to $260, maintaining an outperform rating on the stock.
• Multiple analysts have upgraded their price targets for Alphabet, with the consensus rating now at "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $219.11.
• Alphabet announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, indicating a dividend yield of 0.4%, set to be paid on September 15th.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) traded up 9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on the stock from $220.00 to $260.00. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Alphabet traded as high as $230.86 and last traded at $230.44. 48,099,283 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 32% from the average session volume of 36,306,027 shares. The stock had previously closed at $211.35.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $219.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total value of $4,637,754.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 42,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,371,905.30. The trade was a 35.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total value of $3,448,820.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 243,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $45,213,984. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 222,210 shares of company stock worth $41,742,155 in the last 90 days. 11.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 242.9% during the 1st quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. von Borstel & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 85.7% during the 1st quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Trading Up 9.0%

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $192.29 and a 200-day moving average of $174.41. The company has a market capitalization of $2.79 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.60 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%. On average, research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Alphabet's payout ratio is 8.95%.

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.

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