Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Price Target Raised to $187.00

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) had its price target boosted by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $182.00 to $187.00 in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the information services provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective points to a potential upside of 4.56% from the company’s previous close.

GOOGL has been the subject of several other reports. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $170.00 price target for the company. Argus boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. TD Securities increased their price objective on Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $181.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on Alphabet from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $202.87.

Alphabet Stock Up 5.4 %

NASDAQ:GOOGL traded up $9.17 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $178.85. 32,715,938 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 26,968,799. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $162.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $168.74. The firm has a market cap of $2.21 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.44, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.04. Alphabet has a fifty-two week low of $122.68 and a fifty-two week high of $191.75. The company has a current ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a return on equity of 30.49% and a net margin of 26.70%. The firm had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.55 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet will post 7.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.00, for a total value of $114,576.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 31,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,264,112. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $115,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 29,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,838,460. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.00, for a total transaction of $114,576.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 31,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,264,112. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 220,426 shares of company stock worth $35,993,340. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 7.4% during the first quarter. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY now owns 24,861 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,752,000 after purchasing an additional 1,720 shares in the last quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 176,121 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $26,582,000 after buying an additional 2,727 shares in the last quarter. Saratoga Research & Investment Management boosted its position in Alphabet by 19.1% in the 1st quarter. Saratoga Research & Investment Management now owns 1,001,128 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $151,100,000 after buying an additional 160,884 shares during the last quarter. First Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 9,694 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,463,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the period. Finally, Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 5.7% during the first quarter. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC now owns 21,355 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,223,000 after acquiring an additional 1,150 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.