Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Down 0.3% – Here’s Why

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) shares dropped 0.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $179.39 and last traded at $179.79. Approximately 5,255,854 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 27,030,518 shares. The stock had previously closed at $180.35.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on GOOGL shares. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $217.00 price target (up from $215.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Phillip Securities raised shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $204.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $208.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.90.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.8 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 1.95. The company has a market capitalization of $2.15 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.03. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $164.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $170.04.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $88.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.85 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.55 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 10.61%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,835 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total value of $429,587.55. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,182 shares in the company, valued at $4,421,948.46. This represents a 8.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.66, for a total value of $3,772,350.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,159,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $362,126,319.10. This represents a 1.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,835 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total value of $429,587.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,182 shares in the company, valued at $4,421,948.46. This represents a 8.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 207,495 shares of company stock worth $34,586,641 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlueCrest Capital Management Ltd boosted its position in Alphabet by 300.0% during the third quarter. BlueCrest Capital Management Ltd now owns 6,000 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $995,000 after purchasing an additional 4,500 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.8% in the third quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 121,926 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $20,221,000 after acquiring an additional 2,114 shares during the period. Infusive Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 10.4% in the third quarter. Infusive Asset Management Inc. now owns 111,242 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $18,449,000 after acquiring an additional 10,470 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 14.3% in the third quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 3,846,869 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $637,920,000 after acquiring an additional 482,349 shares during the period. Finally, Centric Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.2% in the third quarter. Centric Wealth Management now owns 7,973 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,407,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

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.