Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Price Target Raised to $230.00 at Wolfe Research

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) had its target price hoisted by Wolfe Research from $220.00 to $230.00 in a report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the information services provider's stock.

GOOGL has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Tigress Financial increased their price target on Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Phillip Securities raised shares of Alphabet to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $206.44.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL traded up $2.36 on Friday, hitting $191.79. 18,575,797 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,473,299. 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 stock's 50 day moving average price is $179.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $172.40. Alphabet has a 1-year low of $130.66 and a 1-year high of $201.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.35 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. The firm had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.55 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet will post 8.01 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. Alphabet's payout ratio is 10.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total transaction of $3,239,868.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,471,620.22. This trade represents a 27.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 37,134 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.02, for a total transaction of $6,870,532.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 282,832 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $52,329,576.64. This trade represents a 11.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 155,887 shares of company stock valued at $27,996,356. 11.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. LMR Partners LLP acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the second quarter valued at $36,000. Denver PWM LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 2nd quarter worth $41,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 2nd quarter worth $53,000. Finally, Legend Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 280.0% in the 2nd quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 380 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.