Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Up 4.6% – Here’s What Happened

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) traded up 4.6% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $188.03 and last traded at $185.28. 13,831,530 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 29% from the average session volume of 19,458,094 shares. The stock had previously closed at $177.10.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on GOOG. DA Davidson raised shares of Alphabet to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Scotiabank started coverage on Alphabet in a research report on Friday, October 11th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $212.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on Alphabet from $187.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Alphabet from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.56.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $171.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $171.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.28 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.02. 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 (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.55 earnings per share. Alphabet’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.61%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, Director Frances Arnold sold 441 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.06, for a total value of $75,437.46. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,820,779.40. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,367 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.41, for a total transaction of $232,950.47. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 23,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,007,191.15. This trade represents a 5.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 160,789 shares of company stock valued at $27,374,143 over the last 90 days. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. DGS Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 2.0% in the third quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 26,962 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $4,508,000 after purchasing an additional 531 shares during the period. Copley Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $962,000. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $9,181,000. Boulder Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Alphabet during the third quarter worth $339,000. Finally, Oriental Harbor Investment Fund acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth about $80,656,000. 27.26% of the stock is 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.