Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Short Interest Up 10.5% in September

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 79,580,000 shares, an increase of 10.5% from the August 31st total of 72,050,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 25,200,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.2 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GOOGL. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, September 5th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, August 30th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $222.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, TD Securities increased their price objective on Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Eight equities research 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.35.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.00, for a total transaction of $114,576.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 31,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,264,112. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.85, for a total transaction of $278,775.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 30,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,728,640.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.00, for a total transaction of $114,576.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 31,334 shares in the company, valued at $5,264,112. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 193,725 shares of company stock valued at $31,933,031 in the last 90 days. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 20.4% in the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 1,841 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the period. Ashburton Jersey Ltd bought a new position in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,328,000. Sage Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at about $234,000. Alternative Investment Advisors LLC. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter worth approximately $1,950,000. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its position in Alphabet by 23.7% during the second quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 50,059 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $9,118,000 after purchasing an additional 9,582 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of GOOGL stock traded up $1.20 on Tuesday, hitting $167.05. The stock had a trading volume of 21,305,662 shares, compared to its average volume of 27,493,906. Alphabet has a 12-month low of $120.21 and a 12-month high of $191.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.08 and a quick ratio of 2.08. The business has a 50 day moving average of $162.52 and a 200 day moving average of $166.84. The stock has a market cap of $2.06 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.04.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $84.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.60 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 30.49% and a net margin of 26.70%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.44 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Alphabet will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.27%.

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.