Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Trading Up 2.3% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Alphabet Inc. shares rose 2.3%, peaking at $252.11, with a current trading price of $251.03, despite a 26% decline in trading volume compared to average daily volumes.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for Alphabet, with Citizens Jmp increasing it to $290.00, while Royal Bank of Canada set a target of $260.00, reflecting strong positive sentiment among analysts.
• Alphabet recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, representing an annualized yield of 0.3%, with a dividend payout ratio of 8.95%.

Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) were up 2.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $252.11 and last traded at $251.03. Approximately 26,753,484 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 26% from the average daily volume of 36,024,078 shares. The stock had previously closed at $245.45.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on GOOGL shares. Citizens Jmp increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, September 21st. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $225.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $288.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $249.26.

Alphabet Trading Up 2.3%

The business's fifty day simple moving average is $228.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $189.86. 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 stock has a market cap of $3.04 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.00.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.16. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The firm had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.60 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.95%.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,816 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.42, for a total transaction of $4,408,034.72. Following the sale, the insider owned 42,985 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,635,348.70. This represents a 29.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.41, for a total transaction of $7,910,825.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,402,119 shares in the company, valued at approximately $584,699,785.79. This represents a 1.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 243,838 shares of company stock worth $53,070,333. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 242.9% in the 1st quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. von Borstel & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 85.7% in the 1st quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $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.

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