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

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s share price dropped 2.2% on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $168.91 and last traded at $169.80. Approximately 15,644,144 shares were traded 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, CFO Ruth Porat sold 48,077 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.22, for a total value of $6,597,125.94. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 1,777,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $243,854,485.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Alphabet news, CFO Ruth Porat sold 48,077 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.22, for a total transaction of $6,597,125.94. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 1,777,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $243,854,485.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.70, for a total transaction of $2,985,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,332,691 shares in the company, valued at $309,548,095.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 253,209 shares of company stock valued at $36,711,144. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Alphabet Stock Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $149.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $142.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a current ratio of 2.15. The company has a market cap of $2.09 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $80.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $78.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.17 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Intergy Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,393 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $517,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Smith Anglin Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. 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.