Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Trading Down 1.2% - Time to Sell?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 1.2% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $189.58 and last traded at $190.44. 14,334,462 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 27% from the average session volume of 19,706,879 shares. The stock had previously closed at $192.69.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays raised their price objective on Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Pivotal Research increased their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $182.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $200.56.

Alphabet Trading Down 1.2 %

The company's fifty day simple moving average is $180.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $173.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.33 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.02. 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 - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.55 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were 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 owns 26,324 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,342,143.80. This represents a 5.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.30, for a total transaction of $3,741,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,106,806 shares in the company, valued at $350,361,837.80. This trade represents a 1.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 137,588 shares of company stock valued at $24,473,081. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the third quarter worth $33,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 9,200.0% in the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 186 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 87.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 251 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.