Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Down 1.6% After Insider Selling

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report)'s share price fell 1.6% on Friday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $181.98 and last traded at $181.66. 7,329,450 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 26,619,861 shares. The stock had previously closed at $184.56.

Specifically, insider Ruth Porat sold 17,690 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.48, for a total value of $3,245,761.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,449,286 shares of the company's stock, valued at $265,914,995.28. The trade was a 1.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,690 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.51, for a total transaction of $3,281,671.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,997,521.61. This represents a 29.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 2,824 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.43, for a total transaction of $529,302.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 15,024 shares in the company, valued at $2,815,948.32. This trade represents a 15.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on GOOGL. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. DA Davidson increased their target price on Alphabet from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $187.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Alphabet to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Pivotal Research lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $210.62.

Alphabet Trading Down 2.7 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $192.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $175.69. The company has a market capitalization of $2.19 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.32, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is 9.94%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. LMR Partners LLP bought a new stake in Alphabet during the third quarter worth about $32,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Alphabet by 518.8% during the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp increased its position in Alphabet by 36.1% during the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 245 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.