Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Trading Down 0.8% – What’s Next?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s share price traded down 0.8% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $164.22 and last traded at $164.89. 11,378,083 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 61% from the average session volume of 29,014,833 shares. The stock had previously closed at $166.19.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on GOOGL. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Alphabet from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Alphabet from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. DA Davidson cut their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group set a $195.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.75.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.2%

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $158.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $175.04. The company has a market cap of $2.02 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.79. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. The business had revenue of $76.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $89.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. This is an increase from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,690 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.51, for a total value of $3,281,671.90. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 43,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,997,521.61. This trade represents a 29.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,824 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.43, for a total value of $529,302.32. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 15,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,815,948.32. This represents a 15.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 179,324 shares of company stock worth $30,153,353 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 11.64% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GOOGL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 7.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 63,667,407 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $10,559,240,000 after buying an additional 4,567,275 shares in the last quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,533 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $4,455,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Alphabet by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 1,582 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. R.H. Investment Group LLC bought a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,475,000. Finally, Mason & Associates Inc boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Mason & Associates Inc now owns 7,027 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,330,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by 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.