Insider Selling: Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Insider Sells 17,690 Shares of Stock

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) insider John Kent Walker sold 17,690 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.51, for a total transaction of $3,281,671.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 43,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,997,521.61. This represents a 29.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

John Kent Walker also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, December 30th, John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of Alphabet stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total transaction of $3,239,868.40.

Alphabet Price Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $181.58 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $131.55 and a 52 week high of $208.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $194.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $177.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.21 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.00.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.94%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “negative” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Pivotal Research lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $209.13.

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.