Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Trading 2.4% Higher - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Alphabet's shares rose by 2.4% to $204.55 during trading on Friday, with a notable decline in trading volume.
• Analysts have set new target prices for Alphabet, with estimates ranging from $205.00 to $232.00, reflecting strong investor sentiment.
• The company recently declared a $0.21 quarterly dividend, representing an annualized yield of 0.4% with a low dividend payout ratio.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) shares traded up 2.4% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $204.19 and last traded at $204.55. 10,607,724 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 36,160,371 shares. The stock had previously closed at $199.75.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on GOOGL shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Alphabet from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Guggenheim upped their target price on Alphabet from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. JMP Securities upped their target price on Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $211.53.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The firm's fifty day moving average price is $186.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $173.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.49 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.95, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $96,428,000 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.60 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. On average, research analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is 8.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total value of $2,786,400.00. Following the sale, the director owned 240,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,656,704. The trade was a 5.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.79, for a total transaction of $122,274.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,316 shares in the company, valued at $1,287,137.64. This trade represents a 8.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 254,719 shares of company stock worth $47,223,172. Corporate insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GOOGL. Eagle Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 50,132 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $9,490,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 110,330 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $20,886,000 after acquiring an additional 4,110 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 14,930 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,826,000 after acquiring an additional 506 shares during the period. Highview Capital Management LLC DE lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 29,100 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $5,509,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003 shares during the period. Finally, Hudson Value Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 22.7% during the fourth quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 73,282 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $13,873,000 after acquiring an additional 13,564 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is 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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