Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Canaccord Genuity Group Analyst Says

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) had its target price lifted by Canaccord Genuity Group from $220.00 to $225.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the information services provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, October 11th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $212.00 price target for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Alphabet to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Pivotal Research lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.56.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $172.65 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.13 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.90, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Alphabet has a 1-year low of $128.11 and a 1-year high of $193.31. The company has a 50 day moving average of $163.81 and a 200-day moving average of $170.53.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.39 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.55 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Alphabet will post 7.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.61%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.35, for a total value of $3,652,875.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,182,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $354,310,204.75. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Alphabet news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.78, for a total value of $1,898,190.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 330,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,741,643.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.35, for a total transaction of $3,652,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,182,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $354,310,204.75. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 230,244 shares of company stock worth $37,776,954. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,985 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,465,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. PCG Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. PCG Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,880 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $345,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV increased its position in Alphabet by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV now owns 3,636 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $667,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV increased its position in Alphabet by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV now owns 2,944 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $540,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 11.1% during the first quarter. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC now owns 600 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $91,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

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.