Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Trading Up 0.5% – Should You Buy?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) was up 0.5% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $185.18 and last traded at $184.70. Approximately 5,473,727 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 26,995,637 shares. The stock had previously closed at $183.77.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on GOOGL shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $187.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, December 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $210.62.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.4 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.25 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company’s 50-day moving average is $193.02 and its 200 day moving average is $175.42.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 9.94%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,340 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,606,723.84. This trade represents a 6.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.80, for a total transaction of $284,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 21,824 shares in the company, valued at $4,142,195.20. This represents a 6.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 67,029 shares of company stock valued at $12,625,003 in the last 90 days. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. Richmond Investment Services LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $845,000. Invst LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Invst LLC now owns 25,987 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $4,919,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. Cache Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $6,495,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $89,168,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $464,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.