Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Down 1.9% – What’s Next?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s stock price fell 1.9% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $152.21 and last traded at $153.13. 8,457,888 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 55% from the average session volume of 18,834,959 shares. The stock had previously closed at $156.06.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on GOOG shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Citizens Jmp cut shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $208.56.

Alphabet Trading Down 0.2 %

The company’s fifty day moving average is $181.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $178.69. 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 stock has a market cap of $1.90 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.35, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. On average, 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 was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total value of $33,106.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,293,285.89. The trade was a 2.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,368 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.55, for a total value of $262,040.40. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,961,445.55. The trade was a 6.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 87,992 shares of company stock valued at $16,097,111. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new position in Alphabet in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. 27.26% 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.