Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Earns “Buy” Rating from DZ Bank

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by equities researchers at DZ Bank in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,MarketScreener Latest Ratings reports.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on GOOGL. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $330.00 price target (up previously from $285.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $333.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $224.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $305.33.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.1%

NASDAQ:GOOGL traded down $3.36 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $289.45. 59,670,858 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 36,104,879. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.49 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.05. Alphabet has a 12-month low of $140.53 and a 12-month high of $306.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. The business has a 50-day moving average of $260.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $211.57.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly 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. Alphabet had a return on equity of 36.08% and a net margin of 32.23%.The business had revenue of $102.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.90 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Alphabet will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.06, for a total transaction of $168,036.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,264,750.96. This trade represents a 11.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.48, for a total value of $9,213,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,337,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $662,526,494.12. The trade was a 1.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 192,674 shares of company stock valued at $48,454,423 over the last quarter. 11.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 242.9% during the first quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 85.7% in the 1st quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 36.4% in the 2nd quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 251 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.