Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Given New $180.00 Price Target at Sanford C. Bernstein

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) had its target price boosted by Sanford C. Bernstein from $165.00 to $180.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Sanford C. Bernstein currently has a market perform rating on the information services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on GOOGL. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on Alphabet from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Alphabet from $144.00 to $141.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a positive rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a market outperform rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $187.82.

Alphabet Price Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $171.95 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a market capitalization of $2.14 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.05. Alphabet has a 12 month low of $103.54 and a 12 month high of $174.71. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $147.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $141.39.

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. The company had revenue of $86.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.77 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 25.90%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.05 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Alphabet will post 6.79 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.27%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 660 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.59, for a total transaction of $94,769.40. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,009,032.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 660 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.59, for a total transaction of $94,769.40. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,009,032.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 230 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.06, for a total transaction of $35,433.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,104 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,326,922.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 253,439 shares of company stock valued at $36,746,578. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Meritage Group LP lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 1,061.5% in the 3rd quarter. Meritage Group LP now owns 302 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Macroview Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 165.8% in the 3rd quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 319 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.