Traders Purchase Large Volume of Alphabet Call Options (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) was the target of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock investors acquired 438,220 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 79% compared to the average daily volume of 244,703 call options.

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOGL opened at $167.83 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.05 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.26, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $167.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $170.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Alphabet has a 52-week low of $127.90 and a 52-week high of $191.75.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.85 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.55 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 10.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 21,467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.35, for a total transaction of $3,442,233.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 39,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,307,206.90. This represents a 35.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,835 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total transaction of $429,587.55. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,182 shares in the company, valued at $4,421,948.46. This represents a 8.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 206,795 shares of company stock valued at $34,673,866. 11.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 3.6% in the second quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,620 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 7,224 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,316,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its stake in Alphabet by 75.0% during 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 last quarter. First PREMIER Bank lifted its stake in Alphabet by 3.8% during the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 1,655 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cutler Investment Counsel LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 1.7% during the third quarter. Cutler Investment Counsel LLC now owns 3,663 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $607,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $170.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Roth Mkm increased their price target on Alphabet from $206.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. China Renaissance upgraded shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.90.

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.