Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $294.52 and last traded at $290.5530, with a volume of 15382190 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $276.98.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on GOOG shares. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Alphabet from $300.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Raymond James Financial set a $275.00 target price on shares of Alphabet and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Rosenblatt Securities set a $279.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $340.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Mizuho set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $324.81.

Alphabet Stock Up 4.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $257.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $210.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.49 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.51, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The information services provider reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.29 by $0.58. Alphabet had a return on equity of 36.08% and a net margin of 32.23%.The firm had revenue of $102.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.12 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,816 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.42, for a total transaction of $4,408,034.72. Following the sale, the insider 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.80, for a total value of $32,681.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 18,004 shares in the company, valued at $5,253,567.20. This represents a 0.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 221,796 shares of company stock worth $53,983,001. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPL Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 45.7% in the third quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,712 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $661,000 after purchasing an additional 851 shares during the last quarter. Hamilton Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.3% during the third quarter. Hamilton Wealth LLC now owns 29,776 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $7,252,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Hidden Lake Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at about $6,713,000. HighVista Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,387,000. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 57,905 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $14,103,000 after acquiring an additional 951 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

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.