Alphabet Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 438,220 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 79% compared to the typical daily volume of 244,703 call options.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $167.83 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.05 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $167.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $170.38. Alphabet has a 52-week low of $127.90 and a 52-week high of $191.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.95.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.85 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.55 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Alphabet will post 7.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 10.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $206.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. JMP Securities raised their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Alphabet from $182.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Alphabet from $204.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

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 stock was sold at an average price of $180.78, for a total value of $1,898,190.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 330,466 shares in the company, valued at $59,741,643.48. The trade was a 3.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.44, for a total value of $109,420.08. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,136,807.48. This trade represents a 2.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 206,795 shares of company stock valued at $34,673,866 in the last 90 days. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 70.6% in the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 101,230 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $15,279,000 after acquiring an additional 41,880 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 31,171 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $4,705,000 after buying an additional 1,072 shares during the period. Portland Global Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 4.2% during the first quarter. Portland Global Advisors LLC now owns 4,995 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $754,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 5.4% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 6,576,002 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $992,516,000 after buying an additional 337,795 shares during the period. Finally, Interchange Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 3.1% in the first quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC now owns 13,104 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,975,000 after acquiring an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.