Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Hits New 12-Month High at $176.97

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $176.97 and last traded at $176.93, with a volume of 3477708 shares. The stock had previously closed at $175.43.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on GOOG. Susquehanna upped their target price on Alphabet from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $172.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $154.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Raymond James raised their target price on Alphabet from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $165.67.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.9 %

The stock has a market cap of $2.19 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.11, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $157.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $146.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.38. Alphabet had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 29.52%. The firm had revenue of $80.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $78.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.17 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a — dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 10th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Prabhakar Raghavan sold 3,258 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.97, for a total transaction of $508,150.26. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 144,685 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,566,519.45. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Alphabet news, SVP Prabhakar Raghavan sold 3,258 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.97, for a total transaction of $508,150.26. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 144,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,566,519.45. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.49, for a total transaction of $93,086.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 28,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,903,886.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 276,511 shares of company stock worth $41,234,695. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GOOG. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 11.1% during the first quarter. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC now owns 600 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $91,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,898 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $466,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 0.7% during the first quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC now owns 8,609 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,311,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 1.9% in the first quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,393 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $517,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smith Anglin Financial LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 2.0% in the first quarter. Smith Anglin Financial LLC now owns 3,223 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $491,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

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.