Insider Selling: Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Director Sells 111 Shares of Stock

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Director Frances Arnold sold 111 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.42, for a total value of $18,028.62. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 17,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,768,936.16. This represents a 0.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Frances Arnold also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, February 28th, Frances Arnold sold 121 shares of Alphabet stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.30, for a total transaction of $20,606.30.
• On Thursday, January 30th, Frances Arnold sold 110 shares of Alphabet stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $22,000.00.
• On Tuesday, December 31st, Frances Arnold sold 111 shares of Alphabet stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.49, for a total value of $21,366.39.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of GOOG opened at $158.88 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.94 trillion, a P/E ratio of 19.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $148.20 and a 52 week high of $208.70. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $179.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $178.70.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. On average, analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $208.65.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 16,248 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,094,000 after purchasing an additional 1,041 shares in the last quarter. North Forty Two & Co. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $281,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Alphabet by 14.4% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 116,776 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $19,642,000 after buying an additional 14,738 shares in the last quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth $927,000. Finally, Stevens Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Alphabet by 172.9% in the 3rd quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP now owns 91,237 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $15,254,000 after acquiring an additional 57,810 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.