Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Insider John Kent Walker Sells 16,820 Shares

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total transaction of $3,239,868.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 43,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,471,620.22. This represents a 27.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $191.79 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.35 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.01. 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $130.66 and a 12-month high of $201.42. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $179.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $172.40.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $88.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.85 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on GOOGL shares. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Roth Mkm raised their price target on Alphabet from $206.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $205.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Pivotal Research increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $206.44.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Denver PWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 25.4% in the 3rd quarter. Denver PWM LLC now owns 281 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its position in Alphabet by 75.0% in the second 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. First PREMIER Bank boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 3.8% in the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 1,655 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $275,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Cutler Investment Counsel LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.7% in the third quarter. Cutler Investment Counsel LLC now owns 3,663 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $607,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MKT Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. MKT Advisors LLC now owns 7,363 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,221,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.