Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Up 0.3% Following Analyst Upgrade

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) shares traded up 0.3% on Friday after DA Davidson raised their price target on the stock from $190.00 to $200.00. DA Davidson currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Alphabet traded as high as $200.26 and last traded at $198.64. 5,272,042 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 22,702,318 shares. The stock had previously closed at $197.98.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on GOOGL. China Renaissance raised shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective 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. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $206.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $209.44.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total value of $3,239,868.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,981 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,471,620.22. This trade represents a 27.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 2,834 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $550,702.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,847 shares in the company, valued at $3,468,029.04. This trade represents a 13.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 133,387 shares of company stock valued at $24,368,654 over the last quarter. 11.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. LMR Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Alphabet by 518.8% during the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Denver PWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 25.4% in the 3rd quarter. Denver PWM LLC now owns 281 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter valued at about $53,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.1 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $185.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $173.72. The company has a market capitalization of $2.45 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.55, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.95.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $88.27 billion during 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 last year, the company earned $1.55 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is 10.61%.

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.