Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Gap Up After Earnings Beat

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $159.28, but opened at $165.07. Alphabet shares last traded at $164.60, with a volume of 14,502,789 shares.

The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.79. The firm had revenue of $76.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.30 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This is a positive change from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Alphabet's payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Westpark Capital upgraded Alphabet to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price objective (down previously from $230.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday. DZ Bank cut Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $198.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities lowered their price objective on Alphabet from $205.00 to $189.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $199.03.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 2,685,196 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $419,320,207.36. The trade was a 1.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 673 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.33, for a total value of $104,537.09. Following the completion of the sale, 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. Insiders sold 148,163 shares of company stock valued at $25,361,647 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GOOGL. Bennett Selby Investments LP lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Bennett Selby Investments LP now owns 1,354 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 1,293 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Conrad Siegel Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Alphabet by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Conrad Siegel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,845 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,864,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 2,381 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $457,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 7,527 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,425,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.97 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company's 50 day moving average is $162.18 and its 200 day moving average is $175.52.

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.