Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Trading Down 0.3% – What’s Next?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s stock price traded down 0.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $163.61 and last traded at $164.54. 5,929,644 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 25,830,183 shares. The stock had previously closed at $165.06.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on GOOGL shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $187.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Alphabet from $215.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Robert W. Baird reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $205.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Alphabet from $210.00 to $208.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $210.59.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.00 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02. 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’s 50-day moving average is $181.11 and its 200-day moving average is $176.78.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its earnings results 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%. On average, analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 9.94%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total transaction of $3,239,868.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 43,981 shares in the company, valued at $8,471,620.22. This trade represents a 27.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,368 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.55, for a total value of $262,040.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,961,445.55. The trade was a 6.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 93,048 shares of company stock worth $17,374,274. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bennett Selby Investments LP lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Bennett Selby Investments LP now owns 1,354 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 1,293 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Conrad Siegel Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Alphabet by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Conrad Siegel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,845 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,864,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 2,381 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $457,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 7,527 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,425,000 after buying an additional 53 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.