Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Trading 1.5% Higher – Should You Buy?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) rose 1.5% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $172.52 and last traded at $172.42. Approximately 3,584,410 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 17,844,933 shares. The stock had previously closed at $169.93.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on GOOG. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “negative” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $209.13.

Alphabet Trading Down 1.8 %

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 business’s fifty day moving average is $182.96 and its 200-day moving average is $178.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.00 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,293,285.89. This represents a 2.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total value of $3,239,868.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 43,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,471,620.22. This represents a 27.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 93,048 shares of company stock worth $17,374,274 in the last three months. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. 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.