Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Trading Down 0.5%

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s share price dropped 0.5% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $155.52 and last traded at $156.71. Approximately 4,825,900 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 21,985,832 shares. The stock had previously closed at $157.46.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on GOOG shares. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $172.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Alphabet from $154.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Raymond James lifted their price target on Alphabet from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $159.86.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a current ratio of 2.10. The firm has a market cap of $1.94 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.02, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $147.35 and its 200 day moving average is $141.72.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The information services provider reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $86.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $85.28 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 24.01% and a return on equity of 27.22%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.05 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 6.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 230 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.06, for a total transaction of $35,433.80. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 15,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,326,922.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.41, for a total value of $3,541,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,303,011 shares in the company, valued at $362,516,961.51. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 230 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.06, for a total transaction of $35,433.80. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,104 shares in the company, valued at $2,326,922.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 251,339 shares of company stock valued at $36,377,482. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GOOG. DC Investments Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter worth approximately $115,000. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet during the first quarter worth about $184,000. Turim 21 Investimentos Ltda. raised its stake in Alphabet by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. Turim 21 Investimentos Ltda. now owns 82 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 8 shares in the last quarter. qPULA Trading Management LP bought a new stake in Alphabet during the first quarter worth about $279,000. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd increased its holdings in Alphabet by 29.2% in the 1st quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 115 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $321,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.