Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Down 1.9% – Here’s Why

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s share price dropped 1.9% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $175.48 and last traded at $175.49. Approximately 6,859,020 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 27,007,768 shares. The stock had previously closed at $178.88.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOGL has been the topic of several research reports. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $210.00 price objective (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Pivotal Research increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $181.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $206.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.90.

Alphabet Stock Down 2.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 1.95. The business’s 50 day moving average is $164.82 and its 200 day moving average is $170.04. The company has a market capitalization of $2.15 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.27, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The business had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.55 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.61%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.78, for a total value of $1,898,190.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 330,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,741,643.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.78, for a total value of $1,898,190.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 330,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,741,643.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 441 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.06, for a total transaction of $75,437.46. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,820,779.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 207,495 shares of company stock valued at $34,586,641 in the last three months. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of GOOGL. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 75.0% during the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 140 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. LMR Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the second quarter worth about $36,000. Denver PWM LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the second quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 59.2% during the first quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 293 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Company Profile

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.