Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Down 1.2% Following Insider Selling

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) was down 1.2% during mid-day trading on Friday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $178.54 and last traded at $178.64. Approximately 5,136,923 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 27,097,273 shares. The stock had previously closed at $180.75.

Specifically, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.41, for a total value of $1,862,805.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 319,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,765,168.06. 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 link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.36, for a total transaction of $3,990,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,084,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $369,672,512.16. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 441 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.06, for a total transaction of $75,437.46. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,490 shares in the company, valued at $2,820,779.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOGL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup increased their target price on Alphabet from $190.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Argus boosted their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. KeyCorp upped their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $217.00 price objective (up previously from $215.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.90.

Alphabet Trading Down 1.3 %

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $163.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.59. The firm has a market cap of $2.18 trillion, a P/E ratio of 23.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. The firm had revenue of $88.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.55 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.61%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 75.0% in the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 140 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. LMR Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Denver PWM LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the second quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 59.2% during the first quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 293 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.