Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Trading 0.5% Higher

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s stock price traded up 0.5% on Friday . The company traded as high as $176.46 and last traded at $176.07. 4,105,187 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 28,886,145 shares. The stock had previously closed at $175.16.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $193.26.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.18 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $168.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $151.00.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.40. Alphabet had a return on equity of 29.52% and a net margin of 25.90%. The business had revenue of $80.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $66.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.17 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.6 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 10th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.27%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.50, for a total value of $74,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,791 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,314,254.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.92, for a total value of $266,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,727 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $663,107.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.50, for a total value of $74,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 8,791 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,314,254.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 158,958 shares of company stock valued at $25,805,853 over the last three months. 11.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Keynote Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter worth approximately $2,154,000. IMS Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 22.7% during the first quarter. IMS Capital Management now owns 12,385 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,869,000 after purchasing an additional 2,295 shares during the last quarter. Jackson Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 6.7% in the first quarter. Jackson Wealth Management LLC now owns 45,907 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $6,929,000 after acquiring an additional 2,886 shares in the last quarter. OMC Financial Services LTD purchased a new position in Alphabet in the first quarter worth $4,227,000. Finally, Hamilton Wealth LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 4.4% in the first quarter. Hamilton Wealth LLC now owns 127,828 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $19,293,000 after acquiring an additional 5,423 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.