Argus Boosts Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Price Target to $200.00

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) had its price objective boosted by Argus from $170.00 to $200.00 in a research note published on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the information services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on Alphabet from $160.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Alphabet from $185.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. UBS Group increased their price target on Alphabet from $150.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $190.60.

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOGL stock opened at $167.24 on Tuesday. Alphabet has a 1 year low of $103.97 and a 1 year high of $174.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.08 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.65, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.02. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $149.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $142.12.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $80.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $66.04 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 29.52%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.17 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Alphabet will post 7.57 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.80, for a total transaction of $3,753,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,280,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $380,389,234.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 2,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.76, for a total value of $369,096.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,035,402.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.80, for a total transaction of $3,753,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,280,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $380,389,234.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 275,129 shares of company stock worth $40,382,765 in the last quarter. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Joseph P. Lucia & Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Joseph P. Lucia & Associates LLC now owns 6,624 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,000,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. M. Kraus & Co lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 1.1% during the first quarter. M. Kraus & Co now owns 6,267 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $946,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Wynn Capital LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $267,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Aire Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Aire Advisors LLC now owns 11,772 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,645,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Henrickson Nauta Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.1% during the first quarter. Henrickson Nauta Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,274 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $511,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.