Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Up 2.7% on Earnings Beat

Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) shot up 2.7% during trading on Tuesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $207.77 and last traded at $208.15. 6,007,736 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 62% from the average session volume of 15,733,622 shares. The stock had previously closed at $202.64.

The information services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th 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 0.41%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 10.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $212.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $182.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Pivotal Research increased their target price on Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $209.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,340 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.80, for a total value of $284,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 21,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,142,195.20. This represents a 6.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 89,529 shares of company stock valued at $16,600,078. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sterling Financial Planning Inc. raised its stake in Alphabet by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Financial Planning Inc. now owns 1,941 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $370,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 14,423 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,747,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 5,659 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Ethos Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 7,300 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,395,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Alphabet by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 5,073 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $966,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.0 %

The company has a market cap of $2.37 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $192.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $176.03.

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.