Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Down 1.2% - Here's Why

Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) fell 1.2% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $150.90 and last traded at $153.66. 7,721,393 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 60% from the average session volume of 19,357,563 shares. The stock had previously closed at $155.50.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, January 30th. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on Alphabet from $202.00 to $185.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Citizens Jmp downgraded shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $210.88.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.4 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.87 trillion, a P/E ratio of 19.05, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.04. 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 50-day moving average is $167.16 and its 200 day moving average is $177.55.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.16, for a total transaction of $5,075,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,685,196 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $419,320,207.36. This represents a 1.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 673 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.33, for a total value of $104,537.09. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 15,303 shares in the company, valued at $2,377,014.99. This trade represents a 4.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 148,163 shares of company stock worth $25,361,647. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 111.8% during 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 acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.