Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Down 1.4% - Should You Sell?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) shares fell 1.4% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $150.90 and last traded at $153.36. 19,461,666 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 0% from the average session volume of 19,413,783 shares. The stock had previously closed at $155.50.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Westpark Capital initiated coverage on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $210.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group cut their price target on Alphabet from $209.00 to $173.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $210.88.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $167.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $177.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.87 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.04.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is presently 9.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,690 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.51, for a total value of $3,281,671.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 43,111 shares in the company, valued at $7,997,521.61. This trade represents a 29.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.90, for a total value of $32,380.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,613 shares in the company, valued at $1,232,544.70. The trade was a 2.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 115,663 shares of company stock valued at $20,286,447 in the last quarter. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 111.8% in the 1st quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 161 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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