UBS Group Has Lowered Expectations for Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Stock Price

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) had its price objective lowered by UBS Group from $209.00 to $173.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the information services provider’s stock. UBS Group’s price target points to a potential upside of 8.53% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on GOOG. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Benchmark restated a “negative” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citizens Jmp cut Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.71.

Alphabet Trading Up 2.6 %

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $159.40 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $170.50 and a 200-day moving average of $177.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Alphabet has a 1-year low of $142.66 and a 1-year high of $208.70. The firm has a market cap of $1.94 trillion, a PE ratio of 19.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.04.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,293,285.89. This represents a 2.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 673 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.33, for a total transaction of $104,537.09. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 15,303 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,377,014.99. This trade represents a 4.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 119,797 shares of company stock valued at $21,089,470. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GOOG. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 111.8% during the 1st quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 161 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. 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.