Investors Purchase High Volume of Alphabet Call Options (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders acquired 529,983 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 39% compared to the typical daily volume of 381,353 call options.

Alphabet Stock Up 3.7%

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $165.37 on Thursday. Alphabet has a 1 year low of $140.53 and a 1 year high of $207.05. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $158.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $175.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market cap of $2.01 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.79. The business had revenue of $76.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.30 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.89 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Alphabet will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This is a boost from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 9.36%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,690 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.51, for a total transaction of $3,281,671.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 43,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,997,521.61. The trade was a 29.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 29,066 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.89, for a total value of $5,374,012.74. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 272,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,376,238.74. This trade represents a 9.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 179,324 shares of company stock worth $30,153,353 in the last three months. Insiders own 11.64% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Alphabet by 242.9% in the first quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet in the first quarter worth $28,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet in the first quarter worth $28,000. Finally, NBZ Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 85.7% in the first quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Alphabet from $210.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Wedbush set a $190.00 price target on Alphabet and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Alphabet from $220.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Alphabet from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Alphabet from $235.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.75.

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.