Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Up 5.4% After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s stock price traded up 5.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $182.02 and last traded at $178.88. 30,455,154 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 13% from the average session volume of 26,958,033 shares. The stock had previously closed at $169.68.

The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a return on equity of 30.49% and a net margin of 26.70%. The firm had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.55 EPS.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 12.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on GOOGL. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Alphabet from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Scotiabank raised Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Alphabet from $215.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Pivotal Research raised their price objective on Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.51.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,367 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.84, for a total value of $230,804.28. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,183 shares in the company, valued at $4,927,257.72. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,367 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,927,257.72. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $115,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 29,324 shares in the company, valued at $4,838,460. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 219,744 shares of company stock valued at $35,878,764 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 75.0% during the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 140 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet during the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Denver PWM LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 2nd quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $53,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $162.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $168.79. The stock has a market cap of $2.11 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.04.

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.