Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Down 1.9% - Here's What Happened

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 1.9% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $175.48 and last traded at $175.49. 6,859,020 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 27,007,768 shares. The stock had previously closed at $178.88.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $181.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. China Renaissance raised shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, JMP Securities raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $205.90.

Alphabet Trading Down 2.0 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.15 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50-day moving average of $164.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $170.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $88.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.85 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.55 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. Alphabet's payout ratio is 10.61%.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.41, for a total transaction of $1,862,805.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 319,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,765,168.06. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.41, for a total transaction of $1,862,805.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 319,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,765,168.06. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.66, for a total transaction of $3,772,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,159,885 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $362,126,319.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 207,495 shares of company stock valued at $34,586,641 in the last 90 days. 11.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its position in Alphabet by 75.0% in the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 140 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. LMR Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Denver PWM LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Alphabet by 59.2% in the 1st quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 293 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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