Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock Price Down 0.4% – Time to Sell?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) dropped 0.4% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $190.31 and last traded at $193.18. Approximately 10,319,378 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 52% from the average daily volume of 21,472,471 shares. The stock had previously closed at $193.95.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on GOOGL shares. Phillip Securities raised Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday. Seaport Res Ptn raised Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $207.08.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.5 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.36 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.95. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $182.20 and a 200 day moving average of $173.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.85 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.55 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.61%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.95, for a total value of $247,425.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 26,324 shares in the company, valued at $4,342,143.80. This trade represents a 5.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total value of $3,239,868.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,471,620.22. The trade was a 27.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 155,887 shares of company stock worth $27,996,356. Insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. LMR Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Denver PWM LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the second quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Alphabet during the second quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $66,000. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 19.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 401 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.