Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Up 0.9%

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) shares rose 0.9% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $167.75 and last traded at $167.05. Approximately 4,269,179 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 22,687,377 shares. The stock had previously closed at $165.57.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on GOOG shares. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $172.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $154.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $165.67.

Alphabet Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 2.10. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $150.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $143.49. The stock has a market cap of $2.10 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.92, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.02.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.38. Alphabet had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 29.52%. The firm had revenue of $80.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $78.75 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.17 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a — dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 10th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 2,100 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,035,402.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.80, for a total transaction of $3,753,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,280,511 shares in the company, valued at $380,389,234.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 275,129 shares of company stock worth $40,382,765. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. PDS Planning Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 27,254 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,593,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the period. Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter. Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH now owns 18,402 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,426,000 after purchasing an additional 1,982 shares during the last quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 53,391 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $7,040,000 after buying an additional 498 shares during the period. Sheets Smith Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 110,733 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $14,600,000 after buying an additional 3,390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moreno Evelyn V raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Moreno Evelyn V now owns 125,381 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $16,531,000 after buying an additional 4,667 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Company Profile

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.