Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Short Interest Up 6.9% in November

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 68,680,000 shares, an increase of 6.9% from the October 31st total of 64,260,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 25,670,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,802 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.47, for a total value of $2,780,226.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,280,514.53. This represents a 27.63 % 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, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,835 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total transaction of $429,587.55. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,182 shares in the company, valued at $4,421,948.46. The trade was a 8.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 163,624 shares of company stock worth $27,803,730. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 75.0% during the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 140 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. LMR Partners LLP bought a new position in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Denver PWM LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet in the second quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the second quarter worth $53,000. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GOOGL. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Roth Mkm increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $206.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Phillip Securities raised shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.90.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOGL stock opened at $171.34 on Wednesday. Alphabet has a 52 week low of $127.90 and a 52 week high of $191.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.10 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.72, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 1.95. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $168.84 and its 200-day moving average is $170.26.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The firm had revenue of $88.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.55 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Alphabet will post 8.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 10.61%.

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.