Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Downgraded by Citizens Jmp to “Hold”

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) was downgraded by stock analysts at Citizens Jmp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on GOOGL. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $217.00 price target (up previously from $215.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $206.69.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $189.43 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.32 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Alphabet has a 12 month low of $130.66 and a 12 month high of $201.42. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $179.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $172.28.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The company had revenue of $88.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.55 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet will post 8.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,834 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.23, for a total value of $473,929.82. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 26,349 shares in the company, valued at $4,406,343.27. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.95, for a total value of $247,425.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 26,324 shares in the company, valued at $4,342,143.80. This trade represents a 5.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 154,519 shares of company stock valued at $27,734,316. 11.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. NRI Wealth Management LC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $239,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 93,970 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $17,789,000 after buying an additional 11,834 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co of the South boosted its stake in Alphabet by 35.3% during the fourth quarter. Trust Co of the South now owns 5,045 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $955,000 after buying an additional 1,316 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its position in Alphabet by 25.1% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 2,303 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $436,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Denver PWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 25.4% in the third quarter. Denver PWM LLC now owns 281 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.