Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Down 0.7% - Should You Sell?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 0.7% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $193.75 and last traded at $195.39. 14,302,055 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 12% from the average session volume of 16,233,828 shares. The stock had previously closed at $196.71.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on GOOG shares. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $187.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Alphabet from $185.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Alphabet from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Pivotal Research upped their target price on Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Alphabet from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $200.56.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.7 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.39 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm's fifty day moving average is $183.71 and its 200-day moving average is $174.52.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted 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 company had revenue of $88.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.39 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. The business's revenue was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business 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 0.41%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.61%.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total transaction of $3,239,868.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 43,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,471,620.22. This represents a 27.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 2,834 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.23, for a total value of $473,929.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 26,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,406,343.27. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 155,887 shares of company stock valued at $27,996,356 in the last ninety days. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. M&G PLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,240,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 116,776 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $19,642,000 after acquiring an additional 14,738 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 301,980 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $50,488,000 after acquiring an additional 4,292 shares during the last quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP raised its stake in Alphabet by 172.9% in the 3rd quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP now owns 91,237 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $15,254,000 after acquiring an additional 57,810 shares during the period. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 63,545 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $10,624,000 after purchasing an additional 5,892 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.