Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Trading Down 0.3% on Insider Selling

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) shares fell 0.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $163.61 and last traded at $164.54. 5,929,644 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 25,830,183 shares. The stock had previously closed at $165.06.

Specifically, insider John Kent Walker sold 11,764 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.84, for a total value of $1,962,705.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 49,037 shares in the company, valued at $8,181,333.08. This trade represents a 19.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOGL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Alphabet from $232.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $232.00 to $229.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.59.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average is $179.66 and its 200 day moving average is $176.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market capitalization of $1.88 trillion, a P/E ratio of 19.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.94%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. LMR Partners LLP purchased a new position in Alphabet during the third quarter worth about $32,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Alphabet by 518.8% in the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 36.1% during the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 245 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% 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.