Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the forty-seven analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $301.9783.

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res raised Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Alphabet from $280.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $350.00 target price (up from $290.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Alphabet from $225.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $315.00 target price (up from $250.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,397,392 shares in the company, valued at $598,149,304. This represents a 1.34% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 246,150 shares of company stock worth $55,805,379. 11.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GOOGL. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 242.9% in the first 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 during the last quarter. von Borstel & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter worth about $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter worth about $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 85.7% in the first quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.1%

GOOGL opened at $281.31 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $244.00 and its 200-day moving average is $199.68. The company has a market capitalization of $3.40 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. Alphabet has a one year low of $140.53 and a one year high of $291.59.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by $0.58. The company had revenue of $102.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.90 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 36.08% and a net margin of 32.23%. On average, equities analysts predict that Alphabet will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.