Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Given “Overweight” Rating at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler restated their overweight rating on shares of Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) in a research report report published on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $200.00 target price on the information services provider’s stock, up from their prior target price of $160.00.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $141.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Friday. Wedbush boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday. Mizuho lifted their target price on Alphabet from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays lifted their target price on Alphabet from $173.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an outperform rating and issued a $185.00 price target (up previously from $178.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $187.82.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $171.95 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $147.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $141.39. The firm has a market cap of $2.14 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.37, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.05. Alphabet has a 52-week low of $103.54 and a 52-week high of $174.71. The company has a quick ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The information services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $86.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.77 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 25.90%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.05 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet will post 6.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 10th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 12.27%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 230 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.06, for a total transaction of $35,433.80. Following the sale, the director now owns 15,104 shares in the company, valued at $2,326,922.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 660 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.59, for a total value of $94,769.40. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,920 shares in the company, valued at $4,009,032.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 230 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.06, for a total value of $35,433.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,104 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,326,922.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 253,439 shares of company stock worth $36,746,578. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. M. Kraus & Co boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 1.1% in the first quarter. M. Kraus & Co now owns 6,267 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $946,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Wynn Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 3.9% in the first quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $267,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Aire Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Aire Advisors LLC now owns 11,772 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,645,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Henrickson Nauta Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Alphabet by 2.1% in the first quarter. Henrickson Nauta Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,274 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $511,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Alphabet by 1.0% in the first quarter. Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,350 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,109,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. 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.