Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $193.70 and last traded at $193.23, with a volume of 19221049 shares. The stock had previously closed at $185.17.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on GOOGL. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $210.00 price target (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. China Renaissance raised shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $217.00 to $208.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $217.00 price target (up previously from $215.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $206.03.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market cap of $2.37 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s fifty day moving average is $170.07 and its 200-day moving average is $170.28.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The business had revenue of $88.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.55 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 10.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,367 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.84, for a total value of $230,804.28. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,927,257.72. The trade was a 4.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.63, for a total transaction of $3,614,175.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,114,885 shares in the company, valued at $339,713,977.55. This trade represents a 1.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 197,923 shares of company stock worth $34,244,676. Insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 75.0% during the second 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 period. LMR Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the second quarter worth about $36,000. Denver PWM LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the second quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the second quarter worth about $53,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.