Analysts Set Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Target Price at $189.44

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the thirty-six ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $190.60.

Several research firms have weighed in on GOOGL. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Alphabet from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $155.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price target (up previously from $160.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, April 26th.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOGL stock opened at $168.10 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $150.75 and its 200-day moving average is $142.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 2.15. Alphabet has a 52 week low of $105.16 and a 52 week high of $174.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.08 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.78, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.02.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.40. Alphabet had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 29.52%. The company had revenue of $80.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $66.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.17 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Alphabet will post 7.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.49, for a total value of $93,086.18. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 28,602 shares in the company, valued at $3,903,886.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.80, for a total value of $3,753,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,280,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $380,389,234.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.49, for a total transaction of $93,086.18. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 28,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,903,886.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 275,129 shares of company stock worth $40,382,765 in the last quarter. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. RWQ Financial Management Services Inc. boosted its stake in Alphabet by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. RWQ Financial Management Services Inc. now owns 61,499 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $8,591,000 after buying an additional 4,664 shares during the period. Robbins Farley increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 15,006 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,096,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Ballast Advisors LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 9.6% in the third quarter. Ballast Advisors LLC now owns 15,747 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 1,385 shares in the last quarter. CKW Financial Group increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 13,830 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,150,000 after buying an additional 760 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantum Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quantum Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,623 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $998,000 after buying an additional 564 shares during 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.