Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Price Target Raised to $285.00 at Piper Sandler

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) had its price target increased by Piper Sandler from $220.00 to $285.00 in a research report released on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the information services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on GOOGL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $208.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $224.51.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $252.03 on Thursday. Alphabet has a 12-month low of $140.53 and a 12-month high of $253.99. The stock has a market cap of $3.05 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a 50-day moving average of $207.87 and a 200 day moving average of $179.73.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.16. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The company had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $93.60 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th were issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.50, for a total value of $8,108,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,397,392 shares in the company, valued at approximately $598,149,304. This trade represents a 1.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.44, for a total transaction of $149,664.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,425,799.04. This represents a 9.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 258,088 shares of company stock worth $52,405,304. 11.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in GOOGL. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 242.9% during the 1st quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, NBZ Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 85.7% in the first quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% 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.