Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Trading Down 1.3% After Insider Selling

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s stock price fell 1.3% on Tuesday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $156.82 and last traded at $157.04. 7,321,344 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 28,143,307 shares. The stock had previously closed at $159.07.

Specifically, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.90, for a total value of $32,380.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,613 shares in the company, valued at $1,232,544.70. This trade represents a 2.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on GOOGL. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $235.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Citigroup cut their price objective on Alphabet from $229.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, DZ Bank lowered shares of Alphabet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $198.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $202.46.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.87 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $166.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $175.98.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.94%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Community Bank N.A. increased its holdings in Alphabet by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 46,173 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $8,741,000 after acquiring an additional 2,790 shares during the period. Premier Fund Managers Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 30.0% during the fourth quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 61,792 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $11,816,000 after purchasing an additional 14,262 shares in the last quarter. Absolute Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Absolute Capital Management LLC now owns 2,096 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Permanent Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $273,000. Finally, Glass Wealth Management Co LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Glass Wealth Management Co LLC now owns 37,054 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $7,014,000 after purchasing an additional 1,580 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.