Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Trading Down 1.7% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Alphabet's stock fell by 1.7%, closing at $188.64, with trading volume decreasing to 12.85 million shares, significantly lower than the average session volume.
• Several analysts upgraded their price targets for Alphabet, with BMO Capital Markets increasing theirs to $225.00, and an average rating of "Moderate Buy" was noted among analysts.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, set to be paid on September 15th, with a current dividend yield of 0.4%.

Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) traded down 1.7% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $187.82 and last traded at $188.64. 12,854,568 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 65% from the average session volume of 37,012,605 shares. The stock had previously closed at $191.90.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $208.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $192.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $211.39.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The stock's 50-day moving average price is $177.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $173.12. 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 cap of $2.29 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.00.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.38, for a total transaction of $5,992,350.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,527,392 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $466,000,536.96. This represents a 1.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.98, for a total transaction of $72,792.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,094,245.74. This represents a 6.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 249,399 shares of company stock valued at $43,525,794. 11.64% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Gimbal Financial lifted its position in Alphabet by 1.9% during the second quarter. Gimbal Financial now owns 2,776 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $489,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Missouri Trust & Investment Co lifted its position in Alphabet by 0.3% during the second quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 16,916 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,981,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. AM Investment Strategies LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 0.9% during the second quarter. AM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 6,477 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,141,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Perritt Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Alphabet by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Perritt Capital Management Inc now owns 618 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Nia Impact Advisors LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Nia Impact Advisors LLC now owns 17,161 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $3,249,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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