Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Down 2.8%

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) fell 2.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $150.87 and last traded at $154.66. 16,231,333 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 45% from the average session volume of 29,681,627 shares. The stock had previously closed at $159.13.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GOOGL. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $160.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $164.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.82.

Alphabet Stock Up 10.2 %

The company has a market capitalization of $2.14 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.37, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a current ratio of 2.10. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $147.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $141.39.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The information services provider reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $86.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.77 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 25.90%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.05 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 6.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, Director Frances Arnold sold 230 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.06, for a total value of $35,433.80. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 15,104 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,326,922.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 230 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.06, for a total transaction of $35,433.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,326,922.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 2,100 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.76, for a total value of $369,096.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,035,402.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 253,439 shares of company stock worth $36,746,578. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Meritage Group LP lifted its position in Alphabet by 1,061.5% in the third quarter. Meritage Group LP now owns 302 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Macroview Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 165.8% in the third quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 319 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. 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.