Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Upgraded at China Renaissance

China Renaissance upgraded shares of Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $217.00 price target (up previously from $215.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $206.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.51.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOGL stock opened at $171.29 on Thursday. Alphabet has a 52 week low of $126.93 and a 52 week high of $191.75. The company has a quick ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $162.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.11 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $88.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.85 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.55 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Alphabet will post 7.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.61%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.44, for a total value of $109,420.08. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,136,807.48. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.44, for a total value of $109,420.08. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,136,807.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Prabhakar Raghavan sold 34,257 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.60, for a total value of $5,570,188.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 312,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,765,346. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 230,244 shares of company stock valued at $37,776,954. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,620 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 7,224 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,316,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its stake in Alphabet by 75.0% in the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 140 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. First PREMIER Bank boosted its stake in Alphabet by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 1,655 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Finally, MKT Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. MKT Advisors LLC now owns 7,363 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,221,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Alphabet

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.