Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Trading Down 0.5% Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) traded down 0.5% during trading on Monday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $204.00 to $187.00. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Alphabet traded as low as $167.37 and last traded at $167.70. 3,282,477 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 19,858,938 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.56.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Alphabet to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Pivotal Research began coverage on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $215.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Alphabet from $210.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities downgraded Alphabet from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $181.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $184.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.07, for a total value of $3,759,075.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,129,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $355,743,153.42. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,367 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.84, for a total transaction of $230,804.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,183 shares in the company, valued at $4,927,257.72. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.07, for a total value of $3,759,075.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,129,306 shares in the company, valued at $355,743,153.42. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 217,592 shares of company stock worth $35,922,911 in the last quarter. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GOOG. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 9,200.0% during the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 186 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the second quarter worth $37,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in Alphabet during the second quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Slocum Gordon & Co LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter worth $44,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.8 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.08 and a quick ratio of 2.08. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $163.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.05 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.04.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.04. Alphabet had a net margin of 26.70% and a return on equity of 30.49%. The business had revenue of $84.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.44 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.27%.

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.