Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Stock Price Up 0.6% – Should You Buy?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s stock price was up 0.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $193.20 and last traded at $191.65. Approximately 4,893,943 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 19,706,879 shares. The stock had previously closed at $190.44.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Alphabet from $185.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Pivotal Research upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citizens Jmp lowered shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Scotiabank started coverage on Alphabet in a research report on Friday, October 11th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $212.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.56.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.3 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.36 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $181.77 and its 200 day moving average is $174.00.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The firm had revenue of $88.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.55 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 10.61%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 441 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.06, for a total transaction of $75,437.46. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,820,779.40. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,834 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.55, for a total value of $559,856.70. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 20,681 shares in the company, valued at $4,085,531.55. This trade represents a 12.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 155,887 shares of company stock worth $27,996,356 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GOOG. Heritage Family Offices LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter worth $227,000. Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 28.5% during the 2nd quarter. Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,127 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,141,000 after buying an additional 3,799 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Income Solutions Inc boosted its stake in Alphabet by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Retirement Income Solutions Inc now owns 7,069 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,297,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Alphabet by 15.0% during the 2nd quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. now owns 9,572 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,756,000 after acquiring an additional 1,248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet during the second quarter worth approximately $619,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.