Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Trading 1.6% Higher - Here's Why

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) shares shot up 1.6% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $202.29 and last traded at $199.07. 10,426,675 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 52% from the average session volume of 21,821,672 shares. The stock had previously closed at $196.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and set a $217.00 price objective (up previously from $215.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $210.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, China Renaissance raised Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $208.15.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.5 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.44 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.98. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $184.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $173.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $72.85 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.55 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 1,367 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.41, for a total value of $232,950.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 23,515 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,007,191.15. This trade represents a 5.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.78, for a total transaction of $1,898,190.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 330,466 shares in the company, valued at $59,741,643.48. This trade represents a 3.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 133,387 shares of company stock valued at $24,368,654 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. LMR Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the third quarter worth $32,000. Denver PWM LLC grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at about $53,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth about $66,000. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 19.0% during the third quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 401 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Company Profile

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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