Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Cut to Hold at Citizens Jmp

Citizens Jmp cut shares of Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on GOOGL. Loop Capital upped their target price on Alphabet from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Alphabet from $182.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $206.44.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOGL stock opened at $191.79 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $180.24 and its 200 day moving average is $172.50. Alphabet has a 1-year low of $130.66 and a 1-year high of $201.42. 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 company has a market cap of $2.35 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.44, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.98.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $88.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.85 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.55 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Alphabet will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.61%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.95, for a total value of $247,425.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 26,324 shares in the company, valued at $4,342,143.80. This trade represents a 5.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,834 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.55, for a total value of $559,856.70. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 20,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,085,531.55. The trade was a 12.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 155,887 shares of company stock worth $27,996,356. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. LMR Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the second quarter worth about $36,000. Denver PWM LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter worth about $41,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Alphabet in the second quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $66,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.