UBS Group Raises Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Price Target to $204.00

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) had its target price raised by UBS Group from $200.00 to $204.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the information services provider’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $206.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wedbush reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Alphabet from $187.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Alphabet from $173.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $203.74.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $167.00 on Wednesday. Alphabet has a 52 week low of $120.21 and a 52 week high of $191.75. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $179.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $160.35. The company has a quick ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market cap of $2.06 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $84.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.60 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 30.49% and a net margin of 26.70%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.44 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.84, for a total value of $4,113,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,204,885 shares in the company, valued at $403,141,173.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.84, for a total value of $4,113,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,204,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $403,141,173.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.85, for a total value of $278,775.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 30,824 shares in the company, valued at $5,728,640.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 122,388 shares of company stock valued at $21,497,609. 11.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its position in Alphabet by 75.0% during the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 140 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. grew its stake in Alphabet by 59.2% in the 1st quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 293 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.