Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Trading 0% Higher – Still a Buy?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s stock price was up 0% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $198.69 and last traded at $197.17. Approximately 4,845,859 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 19,669,586 shares. The stock had previously closed at $197.12.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on GOOG shares. Pivotal Research lifted their target price on Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group increased their price target on Alphabet from $187.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $182.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on Alphabet in a research report on Friday, October 11th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $212.00 target price for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.56.

Alphabet Trading Down 0.8 %

The company has a market cap of $2.39 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a 50-day moving average of $174.50 and a 200 day moving average of $172.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.95.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. The firm had revenue of $88.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.55 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,834 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.55, for a total transaction of $559,856.70. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 20,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,085,531.55. This represents a 12.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.95, for a total transaction of $247,425.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 26,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,342,143.80. This trade represents a 5.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 178,957 shares of company stock valued at $31,358,687 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Masso Torrence Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 5.9% in the second quarter. Masso Torrence Wealth Management Inc. now owns 25,232 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $4,628,000 after purchasing an additional 1,404 shares during the last quarter. Summit Global Investments grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 26.3% in the second quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 57,804 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $10,602,000 after purchasing an additional 12,053 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc increased its stake in Alphabet by 17.8% in the second quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc now owns 105,277 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $19,310,000 after purchasing an additional 15,936 shares during the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 3.2% in the second quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 39,371 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $7,221,000 after acquiring an additional 1,229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 23,637 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $4,335,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

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.