Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Up 1.7% – Here’s What Happened

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) shares rose 1.7% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $157.01 and last traded at $157.24. Approximately 9,615,416 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 27,319,994 shares. The stock had previously closed at $154.64.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOGL has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Alphabet from $215.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Alphabet from $210.00 to $208.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Citizens Jmp downgraded shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $209.13.

Alphabet Trading Down 0.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.91 trillion, a P/E ratio of 19.51, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $177.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $176.95.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. Equities research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total value of $33,106.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,293,285.89. This trade represents a 2.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,834 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $550,702.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,468,029.04. The trade was a 13.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 87,297 shares of company stock worth $15,936,270 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 518.8% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. PayPay Securities Corp boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 36.1% in the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 245 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Anderson Financial Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.