Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Receives “Buy” Rating from Truist Financial

Truist Financial reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) in a report published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $196.00 target price on the information services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Alphabet from $215.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Alphabet from $187.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $204.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a market outperform rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $201.08.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of GOOGL stock opened at $158.06 on Monday. Alphabet has a fifty-two week low of $120.21 and a fifty-two week high of $191.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a current ratio of 2.08. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $166.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $165.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.95 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.24, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.04.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.60 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.44 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Alphabet will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.40, for a total value of $3,991,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,213,011 shares in the company, valued at $392,588,151.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.75, for a total transaction of $123,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 28,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,385,565. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.40, for a total value of $3,991,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,213,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $392,588,151.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 180,167 shares of company stock valued at $30,139,931 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. Nebula Research & Development LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $787,000. New Hampshire Trust lifted its stake in Alphabet by 2.7% in the second quarter. New Hampshire Trust now owns 43,714 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $7,963,000 after buying an additional 1,132 shares during the last quarter. Matisse Capital boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Matisse Capital now owns 16,781 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,344,000 after acquiring an additional 2,026 shares during the period. Berkshire Money Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at $359,000. Finally, Schneider Downs Wealth Management Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 58.4% in the 1st quarter. Schneider Downs Wealth Management Advisors LP now owns 6,374 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $962,000 after acquiring an additional 2,351 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.