Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Down 2.9%

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) fell 2.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $152.77 and last traded at $156.41. 10,398,082 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 52% from the average session volume of 21,879,102 shares. The stock had previously closed at $161.10.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on GOOG. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $154.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $172.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $165.67.

Alphabet Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $149.12 and a 200-day moving average of $142.75. The company has a quick ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.16 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.64, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $80.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $78.75 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 25.90%. The company’s revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.17 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 6.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Frances Arnold sold 230 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.06, for a total value of $35,433.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 15,104 shares in the company, valued at $2,326,922.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 2,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.76, for a total transaction of $369,096.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,891 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,035,402.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 230 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.06, for a total value of $35,433.80. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,326,922.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 253,439 shares of company stock worth $36,746,578 over the last three months. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tandem Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Partnership Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Equitec Proprietary Markets LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Buck Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently 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.