Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Trading Down 0.6% – Should You Sell?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s share price traded down 0.6% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $169.17 and last traded at $169.92. 7,507,804 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 29,116,256 shares. The stock had previously closed at $170.92.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on GOOGL shares. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on Alphabet from $215.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Alphabet from $210.00 to $208.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.62.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. The company has a market cap of $2.10 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $189.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $176.41.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 9.94%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,340 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.08, for a total transaction of $270,787.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,848 shares in the company, valued at $3,606,723.84. The trade was a 6.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Ruth Porat sold 17,690 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.48, for a total value of $3,245,761.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,449,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $265,914,995.28. This represents a 1.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 134,316 shares of company stock valued at $25,062,887. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Probity Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. now owns 8,785 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,663,000 after buying an additional 1,078 shares during the last quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,732 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $706,000 after acquiring an additional 564 shares during the last quarter. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV increased its position in Alphabet by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV now owns 2,670 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $505,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Audent Global Asset Management LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 176.9% during the 4th quarter. Audent Global Asset Management LLC now owns 44,538 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $8,431,000 after purchasing an additional 28,453 shares during the period. Finally, American Investment Services Inc. raised its holdings in Alphabet by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. American Investment Services Inc. now owns 29,130 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,514,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.