Insider Selling: Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Director Sells 600 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Alphabet Inc. Director John Hennessy sold 600 shares on September 15th at an average price of $249.44, reducing his ownership by 9.50% and leaving him with 5,716 shares valued at approximately $1.43 million.
• The company reported a quarterly EPS of $2.31, surpassing analyst expectations of $2.15, with revenues of $96.43 billion for the quarter, exceeding the anticipated $93.60 billion.
• Alphabet recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 0.3% and a dividend payout ratio of 8.95%.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) Director John Hennessy sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.44, for a total transaction of $149,664.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 5,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,425,799.04. The trade was a 9.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Alphabet Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL traded down $0.45 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $251.16. 34,081,701 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 36,992,240. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $140.53 and a twelve month high of $253.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $203.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $178.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.04 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.80, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Roth Capital upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $196.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $222.85.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GOOGL. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, NBZ Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 90 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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