Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Trading Down 1.7% Following Analyst Downgrade

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s share price was down 1.7% on Wednesday after BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on the stock from $222.00 to $215.00. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Alphabet traded as low as $159.74 and last traded at $161.61. Approximately 11,806,785 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 57% from the average daily volume of 27,244,359 shares. The stock had previously closed at $164.38.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on GOOGL. Argus upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $182.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $240.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $181.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, SVP Prabhakar Raghavan sold 34,257 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.60, for a total value of $5,570,188.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 312,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,765,346. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Prabhakar Raghavan sold 34,257 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.60, for a total value of $5,570,188.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 312,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,765,346. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.84, for a total transaction of $4,113,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,204,885 shares in the company, valued at $403,141,173.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 216,092 shares of company stock valued at $35,644,136 in the last three months. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,620 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.8% during the second quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 7,224 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,316,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 75.0% during the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 140 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. First PREMIER Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 1,655 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MKT Advisors LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. MKT Advisors LLC now owns 7,363 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,221,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a current ratio of 2.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $161.62 and a 200 day moving average of $167.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.00 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.04.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.04. Alphabet had a return on equity of 30.49% and a net margin of 26.70%. The company had revenue of $84.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.44 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.27%.

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.