Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Trading Down 0.4% Following Insider Selling

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s share price fell 0.4% on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $165.55 and last traded at $166.43. 5,572,467 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 17,801,087 shares. The stock had previously closed at $167.14.

Specifically, insider John Kent Walker sold 11,764 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.84, for a total transaction of $1,962,705.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 49,037 shares in the company, valued at $8,181,333.08. This trade represents a 19.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on GOOG. Benchmark restated a “negative” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $208.56.

Alphabet Trading Down 4.9 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $181.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $178.31. The firm has a market cap of $1.90 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.39, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.94%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.