Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-four brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $209.13.

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Citizens Jmp cut Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $172.22 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.10 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.00. Alphabet has a 12-month low of $131.55 and a 12-month high of $208.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $192.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $177.73.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Alphabet will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total value of $3,239,868.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 43,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,471,620.22. This represents a 27.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Ruth Porat sold 17,690 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.48, for a total value of $3,245,761.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,449,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $265,914,995.28. The trade was a 1.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 134,309 shares of company stock valued at $25,057,490 in the last quarter. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new position in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors own 27.26% 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.