Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock Price Up 0.6% – Still a Buy?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) shares rose 0.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $164.37 and last traded at $163.80. Approximately 11,350,889 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 62% from the average daily volume of 29,716,154 shares. The stock had previously closed at $162.76.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOGL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $232.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Citizens Jmp lowered shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Ten investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.62.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.7 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.02 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $185.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $176.46.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. As a group, research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, insider Ruth Porat sold 17,690 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.48, for a total value of $3,245,761.20. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,449,286 shares in the company, valued at approximately $265,914,995.28. This trade represents a 1.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total transaction of $33,106.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,293,285.89. This represents a 2.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 95,882 shares of company stock worth $17,934,130. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. LMR Partners LLP bought a new stake in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Alphabet by 518.8% in the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp increased its stake in Alphabet by 36.1% during the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 245 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is currently 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.