Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Trading 1% Higher Following Strong Earnings

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) traded up 1% during trading on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $168.54 and last traded at $168.40. 6,559,254 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 26,770,920 shares. The stock had previously closed at $166.72.

The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a net margin of 26.70% and a return on equity of 30.49%. The business had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.55 earnings per share.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $182.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Roth Mkm raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $206.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $240.00 price objective on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.51.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.00, for a total transaction of $114,576.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 31,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,264,112. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.35, for a total transaction of $3,652,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,182,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $354,310,204.75. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.00, for a total transaction of $114,576.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 31,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,264,112. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 220,426 shares of company stock worth $35,993,340. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 75.0% during 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. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Denver PWM LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 2nd quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 2nd quarter worth about $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 2.8 %

The firm has a market cap of $2.16 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.76, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $162.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $168.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a current ratio of 2.08.

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.