Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Trading Up 4.9% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) were up 4.9% on Monday . The company traded as high as $376.69 and last traded at $373.51. Approximately 38,233,130 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 17% from the average session volume of 32,552,525 shares. The stock had previously closed at $356.13.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Momentum from the earnings beat remains the primary catalyst, with constructive analyst commentary supporting expectations for continued growth in Search, cloud computing and artificial intelligence. Alphabet Stock is Climbing: What’s Going On Today?
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to view Alphabet as a “Buy,” and growth-focused commentary points to above-market financial growth and potentially attractive valuation despite the stock’s strong performance. Alphabet Is an Incredible Growth Stock Alphabet Given Consensus Buy Rating
• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway’s reported purchases of roughly 40 million Alphabet shares, along with a later private placement investment, are being interpreted as institutional confidence in Alphabet’s AI strategy and long-term competitive position. Warren Buffett Regretted Not Investing in Alphabet Earlier
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is viewed as better positioned than several peers to absorb the rising cost of Nvidia AI chips, supported by its scale, financial resources and internally developed AI infrastructure. The Nvidia Tax: Alphabet Mitigates It Better
• Positive Sentiment: A partnership between Google and soccer champion Paris Saint-Germain provides another commercial application for Google’s AI technology, although the near-term financial impact is likely limited. Paris Saint-Germain Partners With Google on AI

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOGL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company set a $411.00 price objective on Alphabet and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Mizuho lifted their target price on Alphabet from $420.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. China Renaissance lifted their target price on Alphabet from $400.00 to $485.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $390.00 target price (up from $345.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $380.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $419.86.

Alphabet Trading Up 4.9%

The firm has a market capitalization of $4.57 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $357.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $339.35.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $6.22. The business had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $117.07 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 54.77%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.51 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 7th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 4.42%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $387,061.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $545,941.03. This trade represents a 41.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 196,931 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.46, for a total transaction of $3,832,277.26. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 600,547 shares of company stock worth $16,255,540 in the last 90 days. 11.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. EMC Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth $52,000. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 142.9% in the fourth quarter. Kentucky Trust Co now owns 170 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc is the holding company created in 2015 to organize Google and a portfolio of businesses developing technologies beyond Google’s core internet services. Its principal operations are led by Google, which builds and operates consumer-facing products such as Google Search, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Gmail, Google Maps and Google Workspace, as well as advertising platforms (Google Ads and AdSense) that historically generate the majority of its revenue. Google also develops consumer hardware (Pixel phones, Nest smart-home devices, Chromecast) and developer and distribution platforms such as Google Play.

Beyond Google’s consumer and advertising businesses, Alphabet invests in enterprise and infrastructure offerings through Google Cloud, which provides cloud computing, data analytics and productivity services to businesses and institutions.