Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock Price Down 0.7% – What’s Next?

Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) traded down 0.7% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $169.02 and last traded at $171.59. 12,971,144 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 53% from the average session volume of 27,716,055 shares. The stock had previously closed at $172.73.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Alphabet from $215.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wolfe Research upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Roth Mkm increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $206.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, China Renaissance upgraded Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.62.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $191.40 and a 200-day moving average of $176.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.05 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total transaction of $3,239,868.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,471,620.22. The trade was a 27.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ruth Porat sold 17,690 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.48, for a total transaction of $3,245,761.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,449,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $265,914,995.28. This represents a 1.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 134,299 shares of company stock worth $25,055,751 in the last three months. Insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Clarity Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.6% during the third quarter. Clarity Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 51,640 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $8,565,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the period. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. now owns 678,543 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $112,562,000 after purchasing an additional 14,789 shares during the last quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 9,714 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,611,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the period. Integris Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter. Integris Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,171 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $360,000 after buying an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Etesian Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in Alphabet by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Etesian Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 8,384 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,391,000 after buying an additional 312 shares during the period. 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.