Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock Price Down 2.8% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) dropped 2.8% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $277.24 and last traded at $278.57. Approximately 29,122,028 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 19% from the average daily volume of 35,741,172 shares. The stock had previously closed at $286.71.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. China Renaissance increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $207.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $247.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $225.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $304.10.

Alphabet Trading Down 0.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $257.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $208.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.34 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by $0.58. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.23% and a return on equity of 36.08%. The firm had revenue of $102.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.90 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 8th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 8th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 8.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,816 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.42, for a total value of $4,408,034.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,635,348.70. This trade represents a 29.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,778 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total value of $680,610.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 17,293 shares in the company, valued at $4,236,785. This trade represents a 13.84% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 221,796 shares of company stock worth $53,983,001. 11.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Alphabet by 242.9% in the 1st quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 85.7% during the first quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new position in Alphabet during the third quarter worth approximately $53,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.