Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Trading Down 0.7% – Here’s Why

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s stock price was down 0.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $193.75 and last traded at $195.39. Approximately 14,302,055 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 12% from the average daily volume of 16,233,828 shares. The stock had previously closed at $196.71.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $212.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Phillip Securities upgraded Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Pivotal Research raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.56.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.7 %

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $183.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $174.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.39 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its earnings results 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 the consensus estimate of $86.39 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.55 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.61%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,834 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.23, for a total transaction of $473,929.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 26,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,406,343.27. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 37,134 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.02, for a total value of $6,870,532.68. Following the transaction, the director now owns 282,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,329,576.64. The trade was a 11.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 155,887 shares of company stock valued at $27,996,356 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 9,200.0% in the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 186 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the period. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the second quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 87.3% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 251 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.