Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Trading Down 2.6% – Should You Sell?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGGet Free Report)’s share price dropped 2.6% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $386.23 and last traded at $386.77. Approximately 16,171,619 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 23% from the average daily volume of 20,919,619 shares. The stock had previously closed at $397.05.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. DZ Bank upgraded Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Freedom Capital cut Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on Alphabet from $375.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $362.73.

Get Our Latest Research Report on GOOG

Alphabet Stock Down 2.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92. The company has a market cap of $4.68 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $317.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $311.59.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGGet Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $2.43. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The company had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.81 earnings per share. Alphabet’s revenue was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. This is a positive change from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 6.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.92, for a total transaction of $9,877,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,818,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $856,605,814.08. The trade was a 1.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 47,574 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.45, for a total value of $14,341,182.30. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 13,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,987,279.15. The trade was a 78.25% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 158,553 shares of company stock worth $47,951,856 over the last three months. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 0.3% during the first quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,508 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,094,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 0.6% during the first quarter. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 4,844 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,390,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Ring Mountain Capital LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Ring Mountain Capital LLC now owns 3,554 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,174,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. grew its position in Alphabet by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. now owns 1,589 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $499,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Enhancement Group LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 2.3% during the first quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC now owns 1,323 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $380,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) is a multinational technology holding company headquartered in Mountain View, California. Formed in 2015 through a corporate restructuring of Google, Alphabet serves as the parent to Google LLC and a portfolio of businesses collectively known as “Other Bets.” Google was originally founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin; Alphabet is led by CEO Sundar Pichai, who oversees Google and the broader company while the founders remain prominent shareholders and influential figures in the company’s history.

Alphabet’s core business centers on internet search and advertising, with Google Search and the company’s ad platforms (including Google Ads and AdSense) generating the majority of revenue by connecting advertisers with consumers worldwide.

Further Reading

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