Sundar Pichai Sells 22,500 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.68, for a total transaction of $3,570,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,137,385 shares in the company, valued at $339,160,251.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Sundar Pichai also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, August 21st, Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of Alphabet stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.66, for a total transaction of $3,772,350.00.
• On Wednesday, August 7th, Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of Alphabet stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.35, for a total value of $3,652,875.00.
• On Wednesday, July 17th, Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of Alphabet stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.84, for a total value of $4,113,900.00.
• On Thursday, June 20th, Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of Alphabet stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.40, for a total transaction of $3,991,500.00.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL traded up $0.83 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $157.28. 11,249,723 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 27,555,016. The stock has a market cap of $1.94 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.27, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.05. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $120.21 and a 1 year high of $191.75. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $172.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $164.11. The company has a current ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.04. Alphabet had a return on equity of 30.49% and a net margin of 26.70%. The company had revenue of $84.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.60 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.44 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on GOOGL. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $240.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Argus upped their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $202.81.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 75.0% during the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 140 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter worth $30,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the second quarter worth $36,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

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.