Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Given New $247.00 Price Target at BNP Paribas Exane

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) had its target price hoisted by BNP Paribas Exane from $187.00 to $247.00 in a report published on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the information services provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $280.00 price target (up from $210.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $237.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold 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 $257.60.

Alphabet Trading Down 2.4%

GOOGL opened at $250.46 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.03 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $233.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $193.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. Alphabet has a 12-month low of $140.53 and a 12-month high of $257.33.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $93.60 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. As a group, research analysts expect that Alphabet will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total transaction of $4,637,754.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. This trade represents a 35.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.50, for a total transaction of $8,108,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,397,392 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $598,149,304. This trade represents a 1.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 246,150 shares of company stock worth $55,805,379. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Breakwater Investment Management lifted its stake in Alphabet by 1.0% during the third quarter. Breakwater Investment Management now owns 4,228 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,028,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 1.0% during the third quarter. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,045 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $983,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Kooman & Associates lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 3.3% in the third quarter. Kooman & Associates now owns 1,343 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $326,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.9% in the third quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,572 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $382,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wallington Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.4% in the third quarter. Wallington Asset Management LLC now owns 3,324 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $808,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in 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.