Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Trading Up 0.3% – What’s Next?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) traded up 0.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $169.30 and last traded at $166.52. Approximately 5,572,761 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 18,860,080 shares. The stock had previously closed at $165.98.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Benchmark reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Citizens Jmp cut Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.13.

Alphabet Stock Performance

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 firm has a market capitalization of $2.06 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $188.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $178.08.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 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 forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 29,066 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.89, for a total transaction of $5,374,012.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 272,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,376,238.74. This trade represents a 9.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,374 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.47, for a total transaction of $238,347.78. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 15,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,606,213.28. This represents a 8.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 97,182 shares of company stock valued at $18,192,354. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sterling Financial Planning Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Financial Planning Inc. now owns 1,941 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $370,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 14,423 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,747,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 5,659 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Ethos Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 7,300 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,395,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in Alphabet by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 5,073 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $966,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Company Profile

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.