Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Up 0.9%

Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) shot up 0.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $167.75 and last traded at $167.05. 4,269,179 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 22,687,377 shares. The stock had previously closed at $165.57.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Alphabet Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.09 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $150.52 and a 200-day moving average of $143.31. The company has a quick ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

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

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 2,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.76, for a total value of $369,096.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,891 shares in the company, valued at $1,035,402.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 $380,389,234.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 2,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now owns 5,891 shares in the company, valued at $1,035,402.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 275,129 shares of company stock worth $40,382,765. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Solidarity Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.8% during the third quarter. Solidarity Wealth LLC now owns 8,294 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,094,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Country Club Bank GFN increased its position in Alphabet by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Country Club Bank GFN now owns 158,267 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $21,070,000 after acquiring an additional 3,328 shares during the period. Lakeside Advisors INC. increased its position in Alphabet by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter. Lakeside Advisors INC. now owns 2,313 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $305,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the period. InTrack Investment Management Inc increased its position in Alphabet by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. InTrack Investment Management Inc now owns 7,100 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $936,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares during the period. Finally, Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers Inc. ID increased its position in Alphabet by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers Inc. ID now owns 2,311 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $305,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is currently 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.