Brokerages Set Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Target Price at $182.86

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the eight brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $182.86.

A number of research analysts have commented on GOOG shares. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Alphabet from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Rosenblatt Securities cut Alphabet from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $181.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, June 28th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $168.96 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.09 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.91, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.05. Alphabet has a 12-month low of $121.46 and a 12-month high of $193.31. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $177.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $164.32. The company has a current ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.04. Alphabet had a net margin of 26.70% and a return on equity of 30.49%. The business had revenue of $84.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.22 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.44 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet will post 7.62 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $115,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 29,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,838,460. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $115,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 29,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,838,460. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.35, for a total value of $3,652,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,182,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $354,310,204.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 156,565 shares of company stock worth $27,253,193 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 11.9% during the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 109,878 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $16,730,000 after purchasing an additional 11,646 shares during the last quarter. Investment Partners LTD. increased its position in Alphabet by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Investment Partners LTD. now owns 7,446 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,049,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the period. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Alphabet by 47.9% during the 4th quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 50,333 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $7,094,000 after acquiring an additional 16,295 shares during the last quarter. Apexium Financial LP lifted its position in Alphabet by 335.9% during the 4th quarter. Apexium Financial LP now owns 53,823 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $7,586,000 after acquiring an additional 41,476 shares during the period. Finally, Oak Ridge Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 187,229 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $28,508,000 after purchasing an additional 8,201 shares during the last quarter. 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.