Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Down 2.1% Following Analyst Downgrade

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) dropped 2.1% during trading on Thursday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $209.00 to $173.00. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Alphabet traded as low as $156.60 and last traded at $157.74. Approximately 7,859,152 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 59% from the average daily volume of 19,274,726 shares. The stock had previously closed at $161.06.

Several other research firms also recently commented on GOOG. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Westpark Capital assumed coverage on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $210.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $208.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 673 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.33, for a total transaction of $104,537.09. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 15,303 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,377,014.99. This trade represents a 4.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.56, for a total transaction of $5,153,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,717,696 shares of the company's stock, valued at $430,917,877.76. The trade was a 1.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 118,297 shares of company stock worth $20,804,770 in the last quarter. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.6 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.95 trillion, a PE ratio of 19.91, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.04. The firm's fifty day moving average is $170.50 and its 200-day moving average is $177.99.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Alphabet's payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

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.