Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Alphabet's stock rating was downgraded from "buy" to "hold" by Wall Street Zen, indicating a shift in analyst sentiment.
• Despite the downgrade, other brokerages have set target prices between $190.00 to $285.00 with the consensus price target at $225.54, suggesting continued interest in the stock.
• The company's recent earnings report exceeded expectations with a revenue of $96.43 billion, showing a strong financial performance amidst the rating changes.

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Sunday morning.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Barclays upped their target price on Alphabet from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Citigroup upped their target price on Alphabet from $225.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on Alphabet from $196.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. BNP Paribas downgraded Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $231.31.

Alphabet Trading Down 0.9%

NASDAQ GOOGL traded down $2.19 on Friday, hitting $252.53. 32,240,768 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 36,834,965. The company's 50 day moving average price is $209.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $180.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.05 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.01. Alphabet has a twelve month low of $140.53 and a twelve month high of $256.00.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $96.43 billion for 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%. Analysts predict that Alphabet will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 2,778 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total value of $680,610.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 17,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,236,785. This trade represents a 13.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.44, for a total transaction of $149,664.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 5,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,425,799.04. The trade was a 9.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 258,088 shares of company stock valued at $52,405,304 in the last 90 days. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Alphabet by 242.9% during the first quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. von Borstel & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the first quarter worth $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the first quarter worth $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 85.7% during the first quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company's stock.

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.