Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Up 3.4% – Here’s Why

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) shares were up 3.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $178.28 and last traded at $177.31. Approximately 8,802,439 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 55% from the average daily volume of 19,615,162 shares. The stock had previously closed at $171.41.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on GOOG shares. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, October 11th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $212.00 price target on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Alphabet to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $212.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five equities research 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.56.

Alphabet Stock Up 4.0 %

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 $2.20 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.04. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $164.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $170.89.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.39 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The firm’s revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.55 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.97 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Prabhakar Raghavan sold 34,257 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.60, for a total value of $5,570,188.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 312,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,765,346. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Alphabet news, SVP Prabhakar Raghavan sold 34,257 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.60, for a total transaction of $5,570,188.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 312,210 shares in the company, valued at $50,765,346. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.78, for a total value of $1,898,190.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 330,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,741,643.48. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 232,052 shares of company stock worth $38,424,448. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. Colonial River Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 5.3% during the second quarter. Colonial River Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,126 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $390,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its position in Alphabet by 4.6% during the second quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 11,366 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,097,000 after acquiring an additional 498 shares during the period. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc increased its position in Alphabet by 5.4% during the third quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 162,384 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $27,149,000 after acquiring an additional 8,304 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in Alphabet by 4.6% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 2,628,176 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $439,405,000 after acquiring an additional 115,716 shares during the period. Finally, TSA Wealth Managment LLC bought a new position in Alphabet during the second quarter worth $206,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

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.