Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock Price Up 3.5% - Here's What Happened

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) shot up 3.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $157.52 and last traded at $156.80. 10,173,739 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 64% from the average session volume of 28,239,880 shares. The stock had previously closed at $151.47.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $178.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wolfe Research boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup decreased their target price on Alphabet from $229.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, DZ Bank downgraded Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $198.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $199.64.

Alphabet Stock Up 2.6 %

The stock has a market cap of $1.90 trillion, a PE ratio of 19.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50 day moving average of $163.72 and a 200-day moving average of $175.61. 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 quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.94%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.56, for a total transaction of $5,153,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,717,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $430,917,877.76. This trade represents a 1.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 29,066 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.89, for a total value of $5,374,012.74. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 272,466 shares in the company, valued at $50,376,238.74. This represents a 9.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 148,163 shares of company stock worth $25,361,647 over the last three months. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 518.8% in 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 acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. PayPay Securities Corp boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 36.1% in the fourth 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 period. Finally, Denver PWM LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 25.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

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.

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