Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Trading Down 2.2% Following Insider Selling

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s share price dropped 2.2% on Monday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $168.91 and last traded at $169.80. Approximately 15,644,144 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 31% from the average daily volume of 22,538,996 shares. The stock had previously closed at $173.69.

Specifically, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 660 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 approximately $4,009,032.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.76, for a total transaction of $369,096.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,035,402.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 660 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,009,032.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 253,209 shares of company stock valued at $36,711,144 in the last quarter. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $172.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $154.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $165.67.

Alphabet Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $149.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $142.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.09 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 2.10.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.38. Alphabet had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 29.52%. The firm had revenue of $80.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $78.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.17 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 6.8 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a — dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 10th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 10th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Intergy Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.9% in the first quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,393 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $517,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Smith Anglin Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 2.0% during the first quarter. Smith Anglin Financial LLC now owns 3,223 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $491,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 1.4% during the first quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 4,867 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $762,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 0.8% during the first quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 8,588 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,308,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 570 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% 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.