Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Trading Down 1.2% – Here’s What Happened

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s share price traded down 1.2% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $189.58 and last traded at $190.44. 14,334,462 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 27% from the average session volume of 19,706,879 shares. The stock had previously closed at $192.69.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on GOOG shares. Phillip Securities raised Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Alphabet to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on Alphabet from $185.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.56.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $180.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $173.67. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $2.33 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.02.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The company had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.55 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.02 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.30, for a total transaction of $3,741,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,106,806 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $350,361,837.80. This trade represents a 1.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.95, for a total transaction of $247,425.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 26,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,342,143.80. The trade was a 5.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 137,588 shares of company stock worth $24,473,081 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 9,200.0% in the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 186 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the period. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 87.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 251 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.