Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Trading Up 0.9%

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) rose 0.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $159.99 and last traded at $159.52. Approximately 4,879,197 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 27,596,596 shares. The stock had previously closed at $158.06.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOGL has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Loop Capital reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Alphabet from $215.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $187.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $196.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday. Eight investment 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $201.08.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.8 %

The company has a market cap of $1.97 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.44, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm's 50 day moving average is $166.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $165.17.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.04. Alphabet had a net margin of 26.70% and a return on equity of 30.49%. The firm had revenue of $84.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.44 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.27%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Prabhakar Raghavan sold 34,257 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.60, for a total transaction of $5,570,188.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 312,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $50,765,346. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 682 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.47, for a total transaction of $125,126.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 30,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,623,355.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Prabhakar Raghavan sold 34,257 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.60, for a total transaction of $5,570,188.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 312,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,765,346. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 180,167 shares of company stock worth $30,139,931 in the last quarter. 11.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its position in Alphabet by 75.0% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Denver PWM LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the second quarter valued at approximately $41,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.