Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Down 2.2% on Insider Selling

Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) fell 2.2% during trading on Tuesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $276.26 and last traded at $277.54. 28,762,504 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 20% from the average session volume of 35,943,992 shares. The stock had previously closed at $283.72.

Specifically, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.80, for a total value of $32,681.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 18,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,253,567.20. This represents a 0.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on GOOGL shares. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $320.00 price objective (up from $245.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Westpark Capital upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $343.00 price objective (up from $280.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, China Renaissance increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $207.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $303.09.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $245.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $201.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. The company has a market capitalization of $3.36 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.00.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by $0.58. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.23% and a return on equity of 36.08%. The company had revenue of $102.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.90 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 242.9% in the 1st quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Finally, NBZ Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 85.7% during the 1st quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 90 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.