Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) PT Raised to $180.00

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) had its price target increased by Jefferies Financial Group from $175.00 to $180.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the information services provider’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on GOOGL. BMO Capital Markets restated an outperform rating and set a $185.00 price objective (up previously from $178.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $160.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Barclays cut their price objective on Alphabet from $180.00 to $173.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Redburn Atlantic raised their target price on Alphabet from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $158.71.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.4 %

Alphabet stock opened at $156.28 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $146.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $140.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 2.10. The company has a market cap of $1.94 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.05. Alphabet has a 1-year low of $102.63 and a 1-year high of $160.22.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The information services provider reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. Alphabet had a return on equity of 27.22% and a net margin of 24.01%. The company had revenue of $86.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.05 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet will post 6.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Frances Arnold sold 230 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.06, for a total value of $35,433.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,326,922.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 230 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,326,922.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 660 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.59, for a total transaction of $94,769.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,920 shares in the company, valued at $4,009,032.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 251,339 shares of company stock valued at $36,377,482 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. RWQ Financial Management Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 4,664 shares in the last quarter. Ballast Advisors LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Ballast Advisors LLC now owns 15,747 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,061,000 after buying an additional 1,385 shares in the last quarter. Quantum Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 4,416,533 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $577,908,000 after acquiring an additional 104,366 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NatWest Group plc raised its holdings in Alphabet by 239.0% during the 4th quarter. NatWest Group plc now owns 100,793 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $14,080,000 after buying an additional 71,057 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.