Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Down 1.1% – Here’s What Happened

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) shares were down 1.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $180.51 and last traded at $181.30. Approximately 3,433,997 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 19,533,064 shares. The stock had previously closed at $183.32.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on GOOG shares. Phillip Securities upgraded Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Alphabet from $185.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays upped their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded Alphabet to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.56.

Alphabet Trading Down 1.7 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $166.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $171.57. The company has a market cap of $2.17 trillion, a P/E ratio of 23.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 1.95.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.39 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. Alphabet’s quarterly revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.55 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 10.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.66, for a total transaction of $3,772,350.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,159,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $362,126,319.10. This represents a 1.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,835 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total value of $429,587.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,421,948.46. The trade was a 8.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 206,795 shares of company stock worth $34,471,141. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Alphabet by 360.1% in the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 20,249 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,083,000 after acquiring an additional 15,848 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 32,706 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $4,980,000 after buying an additional 1,798 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 19.0% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 86,040 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $13,100,000 after buying an additional 13,756 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth $215,000. Finally, GM Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 2.5% during the first quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 45,710 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $6,960,000 after acquiring an additional 1,120 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.