Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Hits New 12-Month High - Time to Buy?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $202.29 and last traded at $199.51, with a volume of 5353868 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $196.00.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on GOOGL. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Loop Capital boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and set a $217.00 price objective (up previously from $215.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $212.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $208.15.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.0 %

The company has a fifty day moving average of $184.74 and a 200 day moving average of $173.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market cap of $2.42 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.98.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $72.85 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.55 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.36, for a total transaction of $3,990,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,084,306 shares in the company, valued at $369,672,512.16. This trade represents a 1.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 1,367 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.41, for a total value of $232,950.47. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 23,515 shares in the company, valued at $4,007,191.15. This trade represents a 5.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 133,387 shares of company stock valued at $24,368,654. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. LMR Partners LLP purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Denver PWM LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 25.4% in the 3rd quarter. Denver PWM LLC now owns 281 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at about $53,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 19.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 401 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

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.