Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Price Target Raised to $270.00

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) had its target price boosted by Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $270.00 in a report published on Thursday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the information services provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $230.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.33.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $246.45 on Thursday. 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 fifty-two week low of $142.66 and a fifty-two week high of $256.70. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $221.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $187.15. The company has a market capitalization of $2.98 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.00.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.19. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The company had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.89 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Alphabet will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 was Monday, September 8th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,816 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.42, for a total transaction of $4,408,034.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 42,985 shares in the company, valued at $10,635,348.70. The trade was a 29.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.44, for a total transaction of $149,664.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,716 shares in the company, valued at $1,425,799.04. The trade was a 9.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 276,738 shares of company stock worth $59,135,475. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 120,253 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $22,901,000 after buying an additional 6,410 shares during the last quarter. Revisor Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 107.9% during the first quarter. Revisor Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,659 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $572,000 after acquiring an additional 1,899 shares in the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 46.2% during the first quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 10,025 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,615,000 after acquiring an additional 3,167 shares in the last quarter. Channel Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Channel Wealth LLC now owns 46,622 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $7,284,000 after acquiring an additional 1,897 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 10.9% in the 1st quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC now owns 1,522 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $238,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

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.