Jefferies Financial Group Issues Positive Forecast for Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock Price

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) had its price objective boosted by Jefferies Financial Group from $230.00 to $285.00 in a research note published on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the information services provider’s stock.

Several other analysts have also commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective 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. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $240.76.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOGL stock opened at $245.69 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $220.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $185.22. The stock has a market cap of $2.97 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.00. Alphabet has a 1 year low of $140.53 and a 1 year high of $256.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.60 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Alphabet will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 8.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total transaction of $4,637,754.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. This represents a 35.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total transaction of $3,448,820.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 243,400 shares in the company, valued at $45,213,984. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 276,738 shares of company stock worth $59,135,475. Company insiders own 11.64% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Alphabet by 242.9% in the first quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Companies Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.