Insider Selling: Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Director Sells $33,106.00 in Stock

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total value of $33,106.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,293,285.89. The trade was a 2.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $167.62 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $187.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $178.00. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $141.13 and a one year high of $208.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “negative” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Citizens Jmp downgraded shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $209.13.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new position in Alphabet during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.