Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Trading 0.3% Higher

Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) shot up 0.3% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $163.66 and last traded at $162.68. 7,326,509 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 27,545,156 shares. The stock had previously closed at $162.14.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GOOGL. UBS Group upped their price objective on Alphabet from $200.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $176.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $205.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on Alphabet from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.08.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.01 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.95, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $165.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $165.11.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $84.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.60 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 26.70% and a return on equity of 30.49%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.44 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 12.27%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.63, for a total transaction of $3,614,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,114,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $339,713,977.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.75, for a total transaction of $123,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 28,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,385,565. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.63, for a total value of $3,614,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,114,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $339,713,977.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 180,167 shares of company stock worth $29,762,606 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 75.0% in the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 140 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Denver PWM LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet in the second quarter worth approximately $41,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.