John Hennessy Sells 600 Shares of Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Stock

Key Points

• John Hennessy, a director at Alphabet, sold 600 shares of the company's stock on September 15th for an average price of $249.44, reducing his ownership by 9.50% to 5,716 shares.
• Alphabet recently reported a quarterly earnings increase, achieving $96.43 billion in revenue, surpassing analyst expectations, and showing a year-over-year earnings per share rise from $1.89 to $2.31.
• The company paid a $0.21 dividend to shareholders on September 15, representing an annualized yield of 0.3% and a payout ratio of 8.95%.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) Director John Hennessy sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.44, for a total value of $149,664.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,716 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,425,799.04. This trade represents a 9.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock traded down $0.34 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $251.42. 24,479,119 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 23,142,790. The business has a 50-day moving average of $204.16 and a 200-day moving average of $179.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.04 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $142.66 and a 1 year high of $253.23.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.19. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%.The firm had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.89 earnings per share. Alphabet's revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on GOOG shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, June 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Alphabet from $232.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price target on Alphabet from $186.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on Alphabet from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $227.56.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of GOOG. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 111.8% during the first quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 161 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. IFS Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 400.0% during the 2nd quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Robbins Farley increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 60.0% during the 2nd quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 160 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WestEnd Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 58.7% during the 2nd quarter. WestEnd Advisors LLC now owns 165 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is 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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