Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Trading 1.1% Higher – What’s Next?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) shares traded up 1.1% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $172.36 and last traded at $171.24. 7,158,172 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 65% from the average session volume of 20,243,757 shares. The stock had previously closed at $169.39.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC downgraded shares of Alphabet from a “buy” rating to a “cautious” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $232.00 to $200.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Rosenblatt Securities upgraded shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.88.

Alphabet Trading Up 3.0%

The firm has a market cap of $2.12 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $161.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $176.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.79. The business had revenue of $90.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.30 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.89 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a $0.21 dividend. This is a positive change from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 9.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 673 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.33, for a total value of $104,537.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 15,303 shares in the company, valued at $2,377,014.99. This trade represents a 4.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total transaction of $33,106.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,293,285.89. The trade was a 2.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 195,770 shares of company stock valued at $32,036,638. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 111.8% in the first quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 161 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% 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.