Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Insider John Kent Walker Sells 11,764 Shares of Stock

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) insider John Kent Walker sold 11,764 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.84, for a total transaction of $1,962,705.76. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 49,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,181,333.08. The trade was a 19.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

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

• On Tuesday, February 18th, John Kent Walker sold 17,690 shares of Alphabet stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.51, for a total value of $3,281,671.90.
• On Monday, December 30th, John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of Alphabet stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total value of $3,239,868.40.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $164.08 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $182.36 and its 200-day moving average is $178.26. The firm has a market cap of $2.00 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $148.20 and a 12-month 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.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. Sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 9.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on GOOG. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Citizens Jmp lowered shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Benchmark reaffirmed a “negative” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $209.13.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter worth $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet during the third quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.