Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Price Target Raised to $260.00 at Royal Bank Of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada raised its price target for Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) from $220.00 to $260.00, indicating a potential upside of 13.86% from the current stock price.
• Alphabet recently reported $2.31 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing estimates, with a total revenue of $96.43 billion.
• Insider trading activity includes CEO Sundar Pichai selling 32,500 shares at an average price of $199.92, reducing his ownership by 1.30%.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) had its price target upped by Royal Bank Of Canada from $220.00 to $260.00 in a research report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the information services provider's stock.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on GOOGL. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on Alphabet from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wedbush boosted their price target on Alphabet from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Alphabet from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $172.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, June 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $222.33.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOGL stock traded up $2.70 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $235.00. 46,562,292 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 33,713,716. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $195.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $175.48. Alphabet has a 12 month low of $140.53 and a 12 month high of $235.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.84 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.03, a PEG ratio of 1.56 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.16. 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 analyst estimates of $93.60 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total transaction of $2,786,400.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 240,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,656,704. This represents a 5.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.79, for a total value of $122,274.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,316 shares in the company, valued at $1,287,137.64. The trade was a 8.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 254,710 shares of company stock worth $49,208,380. 11.64% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GOOGL. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 242.9% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, NBZ Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 85.7% in the first 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 in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.