Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Trading Up 0.7%

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s share price was up 0.7% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $151.24 and last traded at $151.07. Approximately 4,885,383 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 31,135,494 shares. The stock had previously closed at $150.07.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $153.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Wolfe Research raised their target price on Alphabet from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Roth Mkm lowered their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $166.00 to $164.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.48.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $143.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $138.03. The stock has a market cap of $1.88 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a current ratio of 2.10.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The information services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. Alphabet had a net margin of 24.01% and a return on equity of 27.22%. The business had revenue of $86.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.05 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 6.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.49, for a total value of $28,698.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $973,436.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.78, for a total transaction of $3,347,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,310,191 shares in the company, valued at $343,710,216.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.49, for a total transaction of $28,698.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $973,436.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 251,378 shares of company stock worth $35,461,377. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 1,919.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 477,035,902 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $45,628,484,000 after buying an additional 453,413,389 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Alphabet by 1,900.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 217,154,306 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $20,770,809,000 after acquiring an additional 206,300,042 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 111,197.8% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 170,420,243 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $15,036,178,000 after acquiring an additional 170,267,122 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at $15,441,917,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Alphabet by 1,759.2% in the 3rd quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 116,116,066 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $11,106,502,000 after purchasing an additional 109,870,525 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

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.