Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Trading Down 2.2% – What’s Next?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s stock price dropped 2.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $173.78 and last traded at $174.27. Approximately 4,344,129 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 26,996,641 shares. The stock had previously closed at $178.12.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GOOGL shares. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $217.00 price target (up from $215.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Scotiabank upgraded Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. China Renaissance upgraded Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Alphabet from $204.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.90.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.9 %

The firm’s fifty day moving average is $166.74 and its 200-day moving average is $170.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.14 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.11, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $88.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.85 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.55 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 10.61%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $339,160,251.80. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.41, for a total value of $1,862,805.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 319,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,765,168.06. This trade represents a 3.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 184,295 shares of company stock worth $30,698,791. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its position in Alphabet by 75.0% in the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 140 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. LMR Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Denver PWM LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in Alphabet during the second quarter worth $53,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by 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.