Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) PT Raised to $174.00

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) had its price target hoisted by Stifel Nicolaus from $154.00 to $174.00 in a report published on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the information services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on GOOG. Morgan Stanley reiterated an overweight rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Alphabet from $172.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Raymond James boosted their price target on Alphabet from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price objective on Alphabet from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a positive rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Buy and an average target price of $159.86.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $156.00 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $146.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $141.51. Alphabet has a 1-year low of $103.27 and a 1-year high of $161.70. The firm has a market cap of $1.94 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.90, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The information services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. Alphabet had a return on equity of 27.22% and a net margin of 24.01%. The business had revenue of $86.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $85.28 billion. Alphabet’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.05 EPS. Research analysts predict that Alphabet will post 6.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 660 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.59, for a total transaction of $94,769.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,009,032.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Frances Arnold sold 230 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the director now directly owns 15,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,326,922.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 660 shares of Alphabet 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,009,032.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 228,839 shares of company stock valued at $32,835,757 in the last quarter. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. Opinicus Capital Inc. raised its stake in Alphabet by 3.6% in the first quarter. Opinicus Capital Inc. now owns 8,277 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,260,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC now owns 5,859 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $892,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Weaver Consulting Group lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Weaver Consulting Group now owns 4,082 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $622,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the period. Occidental Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 10.9% in the first quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC now owns 19,572 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,980,000 after acquiring an additional 1,922 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky raised its position in Alphabet by 19.3% during the first quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 7,271 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,107,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178 shares in the last quarter. 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.