Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Down 1.5% Following Insider Selling

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s stock price traded down 1.5% during mid-day trading on Friday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $148.50 and last traded at $151.08. 32,930,996 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 16% from the average session volume of 28,296,298 shares. The stock had previously closed at $153.33.

Specifically, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.16, for a total transaction of $5,075,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,685,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $419,320,207.36. The trade was a 1.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.90, for a total value of $32,380.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,232,544.70. The trade was a 2.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOGL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $229.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Alphabet from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $208.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.74.

Alphabet Trading Down 1.5 %

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $165.14 and its 200-day moving average is $175.77. The company has a market cap of $1.84 trillion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. Research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 518.8% during the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. PayPay Securities Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 36.1% in the fourth quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 245 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Anderson Financial Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.