Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Down 0.1% - Here's What Happened

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report)'s share price was down 0.1% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $191.92 and last traded at $192.57. Approximately 2,907,613 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 19,660,785 shares. The stock had previously closed at $192.69.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup boosted their target price on Alphabet from $212.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Pivotal Research lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five investment 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 stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $200.56.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $180.20 and a 200 day moving average of $173.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.33 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.02.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) 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. The business had revenue of $88.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $86.39 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The business's revenue was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.55 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. Alphabet's payout ratio is 10.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 37,134 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.02, for a total value of $6,870,532.68. Following the sale, the director now owns 282,832 shares in the company, valued at $52,329,576.64. This trade represents a 11.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 2,834 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.23, for a total transaction of $473,929.82. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 26,349 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,406,343.27. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 160,088 shares of company stock worth $28,232,156. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 9,200.0% during the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 186 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter worth $33,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Slocum Gordon & Co LLP purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter worth about $44,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.