Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Trading 0.7% Higher - Should You Buy?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) rose 0.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $164.73 and last traded at $164.06. Approximately 6,875,136 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 27,234,980 shares. The stock had previously closed at $162.98.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on GOOGL shares. DA Davidson initiated coverage on Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $170.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $204.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $200.00 to $208.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $201.14.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $161.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $167.52. 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 company has a market cap of $2.03 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.15, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.04.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.04. Alphabet had a net margin of 26.70% and a return on equity of 30.49%. The business had revenue of $84.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $70.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.44 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is presently 12.27%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 1,367 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.84, for a total transaction of $230,804.28. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,183 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,927,257.72. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $115,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 29,324 shares in the company, valued at $4,838,460. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 1,367 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.84, for a total value of $230,804.28. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,183 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,927,257.72. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 217,592 shares of company stock valued at $35,922,911. Insiders own 11.55% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of GOOGL. First PREMIER Bank grew its holdings in Alphabet by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 1,655 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $275,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Partnership Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 40.5% during the 3rd quarter. Partnership Wealth Management LLC now owns 801 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $133,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the period. StoneCrest Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.7% in the third quarter. StoneCrest Wealth Management Inc. now owns 21,509 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $3,567,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.6% during the third quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 37,215 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $6,172,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 9.8% during the third quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. now owns 81,302 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $13,484,000 after purchasing an additional 7,247 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company's stock.

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.