Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock Price Up 1.1% – Still a Buy?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s share price shot up 1.1% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $317.99 and last traded at $317.08. 30,088,454 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 18% from the average session volume of 36,721,523 shares. The stock had previously closed at $313.72.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $320.00 price target (up previously from $245.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $315.00 target price (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Roth Capital upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-two have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $313.94.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.83 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.27, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $277.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $225.91.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.29 by $0.58. The company had revenue of $102.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.90 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 35.00% and a net margin of 32.23%. As a group, research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 8th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 8th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.28%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,778 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total transaction of $680,610.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 17,293 shares in the company, valued at $4,236,785. The trade was a 13.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,816 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.42, for a total transaction of $4,408,034.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 42,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,635,348.70. This trade represents a 29.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 226,128 shares of company stock valued at $61,326,372 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Saranac Partners Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth $10,009,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 2.9% in the third quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 2,028 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $493,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Severin Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 41.1% in the third quarter. Severin Investments LLC now owns 4,519 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,098,000 after purchasing an additional 1,316 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Alphabet by 1.7% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 269,379 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $65,486,000 after buying an additional 4,613 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Alphabet by 5.3% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 128,858 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $31,330,000 after buying an additional 6,444 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

About Alphabet

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.