Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Stock Price Down 0.3%

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) traded down 0.3% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $169.93 and last traded at $170.69. 3,774,367 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 22,429,131 shares. The stock had previously closed at $171.16.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Alphabet Trading Up 0.2 %

The company has a fifty day moving average of $153.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $144.40. The company has a quick ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.12 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.02.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company 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 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.66 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a — dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.27%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.70, for a total value of $2,985,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,332,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $309,548,095.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,332,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $309,548,095.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Ruth Porat sold 48,077 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.22, for a total value of $6,597,125.94. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 1,777,106 shares in the company, valued at approximately $243,854,485.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 252,629 shares of company stock valued at $37,091,240. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. Tandem Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Partnership Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Equitec Proprietary Markets LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Buck Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet during the third quarter worth about $32,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.