Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock Price Down 1.1% – What’s Next?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s share price traded down 1.1% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $165.28 and last traded at $167.17. 18,801,245 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 37% from the average session volume of 29,944,192 shares. The stock had previously closed at $169.03.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target (down from $230.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Alphabet from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Alphabet from $235.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.75.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $2.03 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01. The company’s fifty day moving average is $159.18 and its 200 day moving average is $174.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.79. The business had revenue of $76.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.30 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.89 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $1,837,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 261,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,844,050. This represents a 3.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total value of $33,106.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,813 shares in the company, valued at $1,293,285.89. The trade was a 2.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 163,270 shares of company stock valued at $26,553,563 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 11.64% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GOOGL. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 242.9% in the first quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, NBZ Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 85.7% in the first quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 90 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.