Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Up 1.1% – Time to Buy?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) shares rose 1.1% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $317.99 and last traded at $317.08. Approximately 30,088,454 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 18% from the average daily volume of 36,721,523 shares. The stock had previously closed at $313.72.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $350.00 target price (up previously from $290.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Citic Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $230.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Roth Capital raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $330.00 target price (up previously from $285.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $315.00 price target (up from $250.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-two have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold 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 $313.94.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.1%

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $277.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $225.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.75. The company has a market capitalization of $3.83 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.07.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.29 by $0.58. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.23% and a return on equity of 35.00%. The business had revenue of $102.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.90 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.28%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.50, for a total value of $10,383,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,272,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $725,942,020.50. The trade was a 1.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 954 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $317.00, for a total transaction of $302,418.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 11,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,721,580. This represents a 7.52% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 226,128 shares of company stock valued at $61,326,372. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 85.7% during the 1st 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. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Corsicana & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $54,000. 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.