Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Trading 1.4% Higher

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) shares were up 1.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $165.88 and last traded at $165.16. Approximately 3,646,758 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 27,569,955 shares. The stock had previously closed at $162.85.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on GOOGL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $208.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their target price on Alphabet from $176.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $203.74.

Alphabet Trading Down 0.7 %

The firm's 50 day moving average price is $174.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $163.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.08 and a quick ratio of 2.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.00 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $84.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.60 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 30.49% and a net margin of 26.70%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.44 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is 12.27%.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.85, for a total value of $278,775.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 30,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,728,640.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 682 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.86, for a total value of $118,572.52. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,966 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,209,888.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.85, for a total value of $278,775.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 30,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,728,640.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 156,565 shares of company stock worth $26,823,893. Insiders own 11.55% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its position in Alphabet by 75.0% in the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 140 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Denver PWM LLC bought a new position in Alphabet in the second quarter worth approximately $41,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently 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.