Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Receives Buy Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC restated their buy rating on shares of Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $210.00 target price on the information services provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on GOOGL. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $164.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Wolfe Research upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $193.66.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $182.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 2.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.26 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.05. Alphabet has a one year low of $115.35 and a one year high of $186.05. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $172.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $154.44.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $80.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $66.04 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 29.52% and a net margin of 25.90%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.17 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet will post 7.6 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 10th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.67, for a total value of $3,502,575.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,325,513 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $362,012,608.71. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 2,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.76, for a total transaction of $369,096.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,035,402.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.67, for a total transaction of $3,502,575.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,325,513 shares in the company, valued at $362,012,608.71. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 142,344 shares of company stock valued at $23,920,676 in the last ninety days. 11.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Meritage Group LP lifted its position in Alphabet by 1,061.5% during the third quarter. Meritage Group LP now owns 302 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. lifted its position in Alphabet by 59.2% during the first quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 293 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.