Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Trading Up 0.8% - Time to Buy?

On Friday, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) experienced a rise of 0.8% in its stock trading. The shares reached a peak of $176.39 before closing at $175.74. During the midday session, the company saw a trading volume of 3,234,980 shares, which is a significant drop of 83% compared to its usual volume of around 19,441,010 shares. Just the previous day, the stock had closed at $174.31.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Recently, several analysts have updated their price predictions for Alphabet. Pivotal Research raised its target price from $215.00 to $225.00, maintaining a "buy" rating as of October 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group also adjusted their price target from $220.00 to $225.00, supporting a "buy" rating. UBS Group increased its target from $187.00 to $192.00, assigning a "neutral" rating. Meanwhile, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target from $182.00 to $187.00, giving Alphabet an "equal weight" rating. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Alphabet’s rating from "hold" to "strong-buy". Currently, five analysts hold a "hold" rating for the stock, while thirteen have assigned a "buy" rating and three recommend a "strong buy". The average analysts' rating for Alphabet is categorized as a "Moderate Buy" with a consensus target price of $200.56.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.3 %

The company boasts a current ratio and a quick ratio both at 1.95, and has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, indicating strong financial stability. Alphabet's 50-day moving average sits at $170.84, and the 200-day moving average is $171.82. The company's market capitalization is approximately $2.16 trillion, showing a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21, and a beta of 1.02.

Alphabet's Recent Earnings Report

On October 29th, Alphabet released its quarterly earnings report, revealing an earnings per share (EPS) of $2.12 for the quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations that forecasted $1.83 by $0.29. The company saw a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. Its revenue reached $88.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus prediction of $86.39 billion. This marks a year-over-year revenue increase of 15.1%.

Alphabet's Dividend Declaration

Alphabet recently announced a quarterly dividend that will be distributed on December 16th to stockholders on record as of December 9th. Each shareholder will receive $0.20 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend totaling $0.80 and a dividend yield of 0.45%, with an ex-dividend date set for December 9th. The company's dividend payout ratio stands at 10.61%.

Insider Activity

In related developments, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of his stock on September 18th, averaging $160.63 per share, amounting to a transaction valued at over $3.6 million. As a result, he now owns approximately 2,114,885 shares worth about $339.7 million. Furthermore, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,802 shares on September 27th at an average price of $165.47, equating to roughly $2.78 million in value. This indicated a 27.63% reduction in his holdings. Across the last 90 days, insiders have liquidated a total of 163,624 shares worth around $27.8 million. Insider ownership of Alphabet stands at approximately 12.99%.

Institutional Investors' Movements

Recently, there have been notable changes in institutional investments. FMR LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 5.2% in the third quarter, owning now over 114.8 million shares valued at approximately $19.19 billion after acquiring an additional 5.65 million shares. UBS Asset Management also elevated its holdings by 10.3%, bringing its total to about 33.3 million shares worth around $5.57 billion after purchasing an additional 3.11 million shares. Assenagon Asset Management saw a remarkable increase of 65.9%, acquiring 2.5 million shares, and now holds 6.29 million shares valued at about $1.05 billion. Other firms, like Granite Bay Wealth Management and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, have also significantly increased their positions in Alphabet. Currently, institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

About Alphabet Inc.

Alphabet Inc. operates various products and platforms across global markets, including the United States, Europe, Africa, Asia-Pacific, Canada, and Latin America. Its operations are divided into segments like Google Services, Google Cloud, and Other Bets. The Google Services segment encompasses products and services such as ads, Android, Chrome, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, Google YouTube, and more.

Alphabet, GOOG, Buy