Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Up 2.9% - Still a Buy?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report)'s share price traded up 2.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $164.33 and last traded at $164.09. 13,867,222 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 52% from the average session volume of 28,837,121 shares. The stock had previously closed at $159.53.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on GOOGL shares. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Alphabet from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. DZ Bank cut shares of Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $198.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Alphabet from $225.00 to $192.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, UBS Group set a $195.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, April 25th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $199.75.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.7%

The company has a market cap of $2.02 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $158.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $175.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.79. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. The firm had revenue of $76.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.89 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. This is a positive change from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.36%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.56, for a total value of $5,153,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,717,696 shares in the company, valued at $430,917,877.76. This trade represents a 1.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 2,824 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.43, for a total value of $529,302.32. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 15,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,815,948.32. The trade was a 15.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 179,324 shares of company stock worth $30,153,353 over the last quarter. 11.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 242.9% in the 1st quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. von Borstel & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter worth about $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, NBZ Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 85.7% during the 1st quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.