Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Stock Price Up 0.2% – Should You Buy?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) was up 0.2% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $171.61 and last traded at $171.09. Approximately 3,186,667 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 19,622,084 shares. The stock had previously closed at $170.68.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Phillip Securities raised shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, October 11th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $212.00 price objective for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.56.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.24 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.14, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $164.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $170.89.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The business had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.39 billion. During the same period 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. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.61%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.36, for a total value of $3,990,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,084,306 shares in the company, valued at $369,672,512.16. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.36, for a total transaction of $3,990,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,084,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $369,672,512.16. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 441 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.06, for a total transaction of $75,437.46. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,820,779.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 232,052 shares of company stock worth $38,424,448. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 9,200.0% during the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 186 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet in the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter worth $40,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 87.3% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 251 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the period. Finally, Slocum Gordon & Co LLP acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

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.