Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Stock Price Down 0.1% on Insider Selling

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) dropped 0.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $191.68 and last traded at $192.19. Approximately 2,727,792 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 14,674,706 shares. The stock had previously closed at $192.29.

Specifically, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.80, for a total transaction of $284,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 21,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,142,195.20. The trade was a 6.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on GOOG. Pivotal Research raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note 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 report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Alphabet from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Alphabet from $182.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Six investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.56.

Alphabet Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.95. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $184.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $174.55. The company has a market capitalization of $2.34 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.34, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.99.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. The company had revenue of $88.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.55 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 10.61%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in Alphabet during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 9,200.0% during the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 186 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 87.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 251 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% 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.