Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Trading Down 1.1% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) traded down 1.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $350.22 and last traded at $351.16. Approximately 29,380,774 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 6% from the average session volume of 31,124,047 shares. The stock had previously closed at $354.97.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary continues to identify Alphabet as a leading large-cap technology opportunity, with some forecasts suggesting substantial upside into 2027. Alphabet also retains a consensus “Buy” recommendation. 3 Big Tech Stocks With the Most Upside Right Now
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is expanding its consumer AI strategy with the $899 Googlebook, positioning ChromeOS and Gemini in a more premium laptop market. Pre-orders and the higher price point could create a new hardware and AI monetization opportunity, although sales volumes remain unproven. Google’s $899 Googlebook is a bet that you’ll buy a new laptop for Gemini
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo plans to let riders as young as 13 use its robotaxis in Nashville, broadening the potential customer base and signaling an effort to accelerate commercial scale for Alphabet’s autonomous-driving unit. Waymo’s latest expansion strategy: teenagers
• Positive Sentiment: Agreements with Georgia Power to upgrade nuclear plants, together with Alphabet’s support for a Kairos Power reactor, could improve long-term electricity availability for data centers as AI infrastructure demand grows. Southern Co unit signs deal with Google to add nuclear capacity

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOGL has been the subject of several recent research reports. HSBC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $420.00 price target (down from $435.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $425.00 price objective (up from $405.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $425.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial set a $420.00 price target on shares of Alphabet and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $422.16.

Alphabet Trading Down 1.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a current ratio of 2.72. The company has a market capitalization of $4.29 trillion, a PE ratio of 17.64, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.22. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $345.25 and a 200 day moving average of $345.54.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $6.22. The business had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.07 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 7th were issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 4th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 4.42%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.20, for a total value of $149,606.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 27,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,125,015.20. The trade was a 1.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 82 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.71, for a total value of $27,692.22. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 18,995 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,414,801.45. The trade was a 0.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 450,875 shares of company stock worth $11,984,482 in the last 90 days. 11.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in Alphabet by 5.6% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 238,977,259 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $85,403,303,000 after purchasing an additional 12,718,127 shares in the last quarter. Premier Financial Group purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,000. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 27.8% in the 2nd quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA now owns 27,451 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $9,810,000 after acquiring an additional 5,965 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Altus USA Inc. grew its position in Alphabet by 57.0% in the second quarter. Wellington Altus USA Inc. now owns 5,145 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,839,000 after acquiring an additional 1,867 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 0.8% during the second quarter. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC now owns 241,937 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $86,461,000 after acquiring an additional 2,011 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc is a technology and holding company founded in 2015 through a restructuring of Google. The company is headquartered in Mountain View, California, and operates globally, serving consumers, businesses, advertisers and developers across numerous countries and regions.

Alphabet’s largest business is Google Services, which includes Google Search, online advertising, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Google Maps, Google Play and hardware products such as Pixel devices. These products support activities including internet search, digital content distribution, mobile computing, online communications and advertising.