Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Down 2.3% After Insider Selling

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s share price traded down 2.3% during trading on Monday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $167.08 and last traded at $168.01. 15,179,054 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 50% from the average session volume of 30,434,826 shares. The stock had previously closed at $171.95.

Specifically, SVP Prabhakar Raghavan sold 3,258 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.97, for a total value of $508,150.26. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 144,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,566,519.45. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Prabhakar Raghavan sold 3,258 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.97, for a total value of $508,150.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 144,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,566,519.45. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.70, for a total transaction of $2,985,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,332,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $309,548,095.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 253,439 shares of company stock worth $36,746,578. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOGL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $168.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Alphabet from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Roth Mkm boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $164.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $189.44.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $2.08 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s 50 day moving average is $147.85 and its 200-day moving average is $141.42. The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The information services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $86.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.77 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 29.52% and a net margin of 25.90%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.05 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 6.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. M. Kraus & Co increased its stake in Alphabet by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. M. Kraus & Co now owns 6,267 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $946,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Wynn Capital LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 3.9% in the first quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $267,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Aire Advisors LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Aire Advisors LLC now owns 11,772 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,645,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Henrickson Nauta Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.1% during the first quarter. Henrickson Nauta Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,274 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $511,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, Penbrook Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.3% during the first quarter. Penbrook Management LLC now owns 23,170 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,497,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.