Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Up 2% - Still a Buy?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) shares traded up 2% on Monday . The company traded as high as $167.85 and last traded at $167.29. 7,967,802 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 25,801,908 shares. The stock had previously closed at $163.99.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $232.00 to $220.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Alphabet from $215.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $210.59.

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Alphabet Trading Down 3.2 %

The company has a fifty day moving average of $181.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $176.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.01 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. On average, research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 1,368 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.55, for a total transaction of $262,040.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 20,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,961,445.55. This trade represents a 6.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total transaction of $3,239,868.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,981 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,471,620.22. The trade was a 27.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 93,048 shares of company stock valued at $17,374,274 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. LMR Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 36.1% in the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 245 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.