Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Hits New 1-Year High at $176.97

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $176.97 and last traded at $176.93, with a volume of 3477708 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $175.43.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on GOOG shares. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $172.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Raymond James boosted their target price on Alphabet from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Alphabet from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Alphabet from $154.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $165.67.

Alphabet Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $158.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $146.41. The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm has a market cap of $2.19 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.02.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $80.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $78.75 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 29.52%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.17 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.66 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a -- dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total transaction of $3,219,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,355,191 shares of the company's stock, valued at $336,980,728.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 48,076 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.20, for a total transaction of $6,836,407.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,725 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,809,495. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total transaction of $3,219,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,355,191 shares in the company, valued at $336,980,728.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 276,511 shares of company stock valued at $41,234,695 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Veracity Capital LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 10,597 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,493,000 after buying an additional 1,173 shares during the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 25.3% during the 4th quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 6,093 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $859,000 after acquiring an additional 1,230 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Bank increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 33.0% during the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 7,359 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $970,000 after acquiring an additional 1,826 shares during the last quarter. CNB Bank raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 27,723 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $3,655,000 after acquiring an additional 1,710 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC now owns 8,238 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,086,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

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.