Alphabet’s (GOOGL) Outperform Rating Reaffirmed at BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets restated their outperform rating on shares of Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) in a research report released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $222.00 price target on the information services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. DA Davidson assumed coverage on Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a neutral rating and a $170.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Alphabet from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Citigroup raised their price target on Alphabet from $190.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Wedbush restated an outperform rating and set a $205.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Eight research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $201.08.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOGL opened at $162.14 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $165.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $165.11. Alphabet has a 1-year low of $120.21 and a 1-year high of $191.75. The company has a market cap of $2.00 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.87, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.04.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $84.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.60 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 26.70% and a return on equity of 30.49%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.44 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Alphabet will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. 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 company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.84, for a total value of $4,113,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,204,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $403,141,173.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.47, for a total value of $125,126.54. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 30,650 shares in the company, valued at $5,623,355.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.84, for a total transaction of $4,113,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,204,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $403,141,173.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 180,167 shares of company stock worth $29,762,606. Insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nebula Research & Development LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $787,000. New Hampshire Trust increased its holdings in Alphabet by 2.7% in the second quarter. New Hampshire Trust now owns 43,714 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $7,963,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132 shares in the last quarter. Matisse Capital lifted its stake in Alphabet by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Matisse Capital now owns 16,781 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,344,000 after buying an additional 2,026 shares during the period. Berkshire Money Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth approximately $359,000. Finally, Schneider Downs Wealth Management Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 58.4% during the 1st quarter. Schneider Downs Wealth Management Advisors LP now owns 6,374 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $962,000 after buying an additional 2,351 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 40.03% 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.