Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL – Get Free Report) shares fell 0.5% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $192.38 and last traded at $194.47. 9,317,002 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 55% from the average session volume of 20,685,873 shares. The stock had previously closed at $195.49.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several brokerages have recently commented on GOOGL. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Phillip Securities upgraded Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their target price on Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $207.08.
Read Our Latest Report on Alphabet
Alphabet Trading Down 1.0 %
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL – Get Free Report) last posted 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 business had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.85 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.55 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Alphabet Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 10.61%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,368 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.55, for a total value of $262,040.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,961,445.55. The trade was a 6.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.95, for a total transaction of $247,425.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 26,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,342,143.80. This trade represents a 5.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 155,887 shares of company stock worth $27,996,356. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GOOGL. LMR Partners LLP purchased a new position in Alphabet during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Denver PWM LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet during the second quarter worth about $41,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Alphabet during the second quarter worth about $53,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in Alphabet during the third quarter worth about $66,000. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 19.0% during the third quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 401 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
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.
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