Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Stock Price Up 0.6% - What's Next?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report)'s stock price was up 0.6% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $148.42 and last traded at $147.50. Approximately 8,299,771 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 57% from the average daily volume of 19,177,468 shares. The stock had previously closed at $146.58.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on GOOG. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $209.00 to $173.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $208.71.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.94 trillion, a P/E ratio of 19.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $170.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $177.89.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. On average, analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.80, for a total value of $284,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 21,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,142,195.20. The trade was a 6.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 673 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 15,303 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,377,014.99. This represents a 4.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 119,797 shares of company stock worth $21,089,470. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GOOG. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 111.8% in the first quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 161 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.