Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock Price Down 6.4% – Here’s Why

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s stock price was down 6.4% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $164.67 and last traded at $164.67. Approximately 19,456,451 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 28% from the average daily volume of 27,028,113 shares. The stock had previously closed at $175.98.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GOOGL. Bank of America raised their target price on Alphabet from $206.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. DA Davidson initiated coverage on Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $170.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $208.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Alphabet from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.90.

Alphabet Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.04 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.84, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.03. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $167.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $170.40.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The firm had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.55 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.44, for a total transaction of $109,420.08. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,136,807.48. This represents a 2.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.78, for a total value of $1,898,190.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 330,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,741,643.48. This represents a 3.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 184,295 shares of company stock worth $30,698,791 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 75.0% in the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 140 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. LMR Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Denver PWM LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in Alphabet during the second quarter worth about $53,000. 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.