Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Trading Down 0.7% on Insider Selling

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) shares traded down 0.7% during mid-day trading on Monday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $200.10 and last traded at $202.64. 9,430,375 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 61% from the average session volume of 24,200,850 shares. The stock had previously closed at $204.02.

Specifically, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,340 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.08, for a total value of $270,787.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,606,723.84. This trade represents a 6.98 % 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GOOGL. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Loop Capital lifted their target price on Alphabet from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Robert W. Baird reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Citizens Jmp cut Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $210.95.

Alphabet Trading Down 7.3 %

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $190.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $174.40. The company has a market capitalization of $2.34 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.99. 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 (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. On average, equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. LMR Partners LLP acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Alphabet by 518.8% during the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 36.1% in the fourth quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 245 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.