Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock Price Up 2.9% on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) shot up 2.9% during mid-day trading on Monday after Wedbush raised their price target on the stock from $210.00 to $220.00. Wedbush currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Alphabet traded as high as $198.22 and last traded at $197.37. 9,335,889 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 41% from the average session volume of 15,814,833 shares. The stock had previously closed at $191.79.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on GOOGL. Phillip Securities raised shares of Alphabet to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $204.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $217.00 price objective (up previously from $215.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wolfe Research upped their target price on Alphabet from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, DA Davidson initiated coverage on Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $170.00 price target for the company. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $206.82.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 1,368 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 20,681 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,961,445.55. The trade was a 6.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.95, for a total value of $247,425.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 26,324 shares in the company, valued at $4,342,143.80. This trade represents a 5.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 155,887 shares of company stock worth $27,996,356. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lantz Financial LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 10.8% in the 2nd quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 4,622 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $842,000 after buying an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. Spectrum Wealth Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the second quarter valued at $218,000. Vance Wealth Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 4.0% during the second quarter. Vance Wealth Inc. now owns 3,089 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $563,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 38.4% in the second quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 2,917 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $531,000 after purchasing an additional 810 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 0.6% in the second quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 46,276 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $8,429,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 2.6 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.41 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $180.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $172.60. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. The company 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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.