Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Trading 0.5% Higher

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s stock price shot up 0.5% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $151.20 and last traded at $149.44. 9,411,343 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 27,620,291 shares. The stock had previously closed at $148.71.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on GOOGL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $208.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Alphabet from $215.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Argus raised their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price target on Alphabet from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.76.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.87 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $168.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $164.42.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.04. Alphabet had a net margin of 26.70% and a return on equity of 30.49%. The business had revenue of $84.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.44 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.27%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.47, for a total transaction of $125,126.54. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 30,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,623,355.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.47, for a total value of $125,126.54. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 30,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,623,355.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $115,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 29,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,838,460. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 179,367 shares of company stock valued at $30,016,931. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its stake in Alphabet by 75.0% during the 2nd 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. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Denver PWM LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

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.