Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Upgraded to "Strong-Buy" by Pivotal Research

Pivotal Research upgraded shares of Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Tuesday, Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on GOOGL. Piper Sandler reissued an overweight rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $201.14.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ GOOGL traded down $1.23 on Tuesday, reaching $165.76. The company had a trading volume of 11,222,385 shares, compared to its average volume of 27,444,197. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $2.05 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.04. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $162.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $167.02. Alphabet has a 12 month low of $120.21 and a 12 month high of $191.75.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $70.60 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.44 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Alphabet will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. Alphabet's payout ratio is 12.27%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The shares were 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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The shares were 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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 682 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.00, for a total transaction of $114,576.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 31,334 shares in the company, valued at $5,264,112. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 193,725 shares of company stock valued at $31,933,031 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 3.6% during the second quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,620 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Hengehold Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.8% during the second quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 7,224 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,316,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 75.0% during 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 period. Joseph P. Lucia & Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.0% during the first quarter. Joseph P. Lucia & Associates LLC now owns 6,624 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, Sunflower Bank N.A. raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.0% during the second quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 6,309 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,149,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. 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.