Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the forty brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $199.75.

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 target price (down from $230.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. UBS Group set a $195.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $178.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, April 25th.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.4%

GOOGL opened at $178.60 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.17 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $161.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $174.49. Alphabet has a 52 week low of $140.53 and a 52 week high of $207.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.79. The business had revenue of $76.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.30 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.89 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Alphabet will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. This is a positive change from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 9.36%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total value of $33,106.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,293,285.89. The trade was a 2.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 673 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.33, for a total value of $104,537.09. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 15,303 shares in the company, valued at $2,377,014.99. This trade represents a 4.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 195,770 shares of company stock worth $32,036,638. 11.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GOOGL. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Alphabet by 242.9% in the 1st quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet during the first quarter worth $28,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, NBZ Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 85.7% in the first quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.