Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Short Interest Down 6.2% in October

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 64,260,000 shares, a decline of 6.2% from the October 15th total of 68,510,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 24,420,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Alphabet from $200.00 to $208.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $217.00 target price (up from $215.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Phillip Securities upgraded Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.90.

Insider Activity

In related 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,136,807.48. This represents a 2.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.68, for a total transaction of $3,570,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,137,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $339,160,251.80. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 206,795 shares of company stock valued at $34,471,141 in the last ninety days. 11.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Alphabet by 70.6% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 101,230 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $15,279,000 after acquiring an additional 41,880 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 3.6% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 31,171 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $4,705,000 after buying an additional 1,072 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 12.3% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 187,840 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $28,351,000 after buying an additional 20,572 shares during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 27.4% in the first quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 34,871 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,263,000 after acquiring an additional 7,507 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nixon Peabody Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. now owns 113,126 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $17,074,000 after purchasing an additional 5,268 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $175.30 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $166.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $170.28. The company has a market cap of $2.15 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Alphabet has a 52 week low of $127.90 and a 52 week high of $191.75.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its 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 company had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.85 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.55 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Alphabet will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 10.61%.

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.