Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Stock Price Down 0.1% – What’s Next?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) shares were down 0.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $191.92 and last traded at $192.57. Approximately 2,907,613 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 19,660,785 shares. The stock had previously closed at $192.69.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on GOOG. Pivotal Research lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $212.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Alphabet to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Alphabet from $182.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $200.56.

Alphabet Trading Down 1.2 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.33 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.02. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $180.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $173.79.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.39 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The firm’s revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.55 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.02 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,834 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.55, for a total transaction of $559,856.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,681 shares in the company, valued at $4,085,531.55. This represents a 12.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.95, for a total transaction of $247,425.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 26,324 shares in the company, valued at $4,342,143.80. The trade was a 5.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 137,588 shares of company stock worth $24,473,081 in the last quarter. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of GOOG. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the third quarter worth $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 9,200.0% in the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 186 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the period. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. lifted its position in Alphabet by 87.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 251 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is owned by 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.