Citigroup Increases Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Price Target to $212.00

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) had its target price increased by Citigroup from $190.00 to $212.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the information services provider’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Alphabet from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a market outperform rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday. Loop Capital reaffirmed a hold rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Alphabet from $187.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $203.74.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $167.00 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $179.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $160.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.08 and a quick ratio of 2.15. Alphabet has a one year low of $120.21 and a one year high of $191.75. The company has a market capitalization of $2.06 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.04. Alphabet had a return on equity of 30.49% and a net margin of 26.70%. The firm had revenue of $84.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.44 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Alphabet will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 12.27%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.80, for a total value of $3,753,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,280,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $380,389,234.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.80, for a total value of $3,753,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,280,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $380,389,234.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.67, for a total value of $113,668.94. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,284 shares in the company, valued at $4,880,764.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 122,388 shares of company stock worth $21,497,609. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of GOOGL. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its position in Alphabet by 75.0% during the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 140 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. grew its position in Alphabet by 59.2% during the 1st quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 293 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently 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.