Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Stock Price Up 1.9% – Here’s What Happened

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) was up 1.9% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $305.26 and last traded at $303.75. Approximately 19,812,587 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 17% from the average daily volume of 23,825,592 shares. The stock had previously closed at $298.06.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $375.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, December 1st. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $285.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $250.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, HSBC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $335.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $313.04.

Alphabet Price Performance

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 firm has a market capitalization of $3.67 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.96, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $287.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $233.11.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The information services provider reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.29 by $0.58. The firm had revenue of $102.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.90 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 35.00% and a net margin of 32.23%.Alphabet’s revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.12 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 8th were paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 8th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,778 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.30, for a total transaction of $867,569.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,962 shares in the company, valued at $2,798,832.60. This represents a 23.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.19, for a total transaction of $184,914.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,206,872.04. This represents a 13.29% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 228,906 shares of company stock valued at $63,984,117 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Morse Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Alphabet by 3.3% during the third quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 1,093 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Robinson Smith Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Robinson Smith Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,070 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $504,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Searle & CO. raised its position in Alphabet by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Searle & CO. now owns 5,703 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,389,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Navellier & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in Alphabet by 0.6% in the third quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 5,846 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,424,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BankPlus Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.2% during the third quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,143 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $766,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% 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.