Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Trading 4% Higher – Should You Buy?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s share price shot up 4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $193.70 and last traded at $192.49. 25,640,477 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 6% from the average session volume of 27,189,373 shares. The stock had previously closed at $185.17.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Roth Mkm increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $206.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $217.00 price target (up from $215.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Alphabet from $182.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $206.08.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.1 %

The company has a market capitalization of $2.32 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.39, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.95. The company has a 50 day moving average of $171.18 and a 200-day moving average of $170.60.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $88.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.85 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.55 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 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 0.42%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 10.61%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 37,134 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.02, for a total value of $6,870,532.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 282,832 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,329,576.64. This represents a 11.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.63, for a total value of $3,614,175.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,114,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $339,713,977.55. This represents a 1.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 197,123 shares of company stock valued at $34,121,676. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 75.0% in the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 140 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. LMR Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Denver PWM LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the second quarter valued at $53,000. Institutional investors 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.