Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Trading 0.5% Higher – Still a Buy?

Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) were up 0.5% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $164.71 and last traded at $163.82. Approximately 7,071,809 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 26,958,947 shares. The stock had previously closed at $162.93.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GOOGL. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $222.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $196.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.76.

Alphabet Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.02 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $161.77 and its 200 day moving average is $168.16.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $84.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.44 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.30, for a total transaction of $3,741,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,106,806 shares in the company, valued at $350,361,837.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.30, for a total transaction of $3,741,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,106,806 shares in the company, valued at approximately $350,361,837.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,834 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.23, for a total value of $473,929.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 26,349 shares in the company, valued at $4,406,343.27. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 220,426 shares of company stock worth $35,993,340 over the last ninety days. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of GOOGL. Violich Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Violich Capital Management Inc. now owns 333,115 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $55,247,000 after purchasing an additional 4,175 shares during the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.0% during the third quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 48,480 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $8,040,000 after buying an additional 965 shares during the last quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 7.2% during the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 4,310 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $715,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Calton & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 2,102.7% in the 3rd quarter. Calton & Associates Inc. now owns 36,961 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $6,130,000 after purchasing an additional 35,283 shares during the period. Finally, Baker Boyer National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 19.8% in the third quarter. Baker Boyer National Bank now owns 2,610 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $433,000 after buying an additional 431 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.