Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Trading Down 0.2% – Time to Sell?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s share price traded down 0.2% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $172.60 and last traded at $173.86. 4,742,038 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 18,547,594 shares. The stock had previously closed at $174.21.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on GOOG shares. Citizens Jmp downgraded shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Benchmark reaffirmed a “negative” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $209.13.

Alphabet Price Performance

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $189.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $178.00. The company has a market capitalization of $2.14 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. As a group, research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.94%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,340 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.08, for a total value of $270,787.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,606,723.84. This trade represents a 6.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.22, for a total value of $291,330.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 23,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,529,987.28. The trade was a 6.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 134,316 shares of company stock worth $25,062,887. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GOOG. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 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.