Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Price Target Raised to $200.00

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) had its price objective lifted by Royal Bank of Canada from $155.00 to $200.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the information services provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Citigroup boosted their price target on Alphabet from $168.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group boosted their price target on Alphabet from $150.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Alphabet from $174.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday. Wolfe Research boosted their price target on Alphabet from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Roth Mkm lowered their target price on Alphabet from $166.00 to $164.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $189.44.

Alphabet Stock Down 3.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $166.15 on Friday. Alphabet has a 1 year low of $103.71 and a 1 year high of $174.71. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $148.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $141.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.07 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 2.10.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $80.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $66.04 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 29.52% and a net margin of 25.90%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.17 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Alphabet will post 6.82 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 10th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 2,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 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 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 company’s stock in a transaction 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 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 660 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.59, for a total transaction of $94,769.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,920 shares in the company, valued at $4,009,032.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 253,209 shares of company stock valued at $36,711,144 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Meritage Group LP boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1,061.5% during the 3rd quarter. Meritage Group LP now owns 302 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Macroview Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 165.8% during the 3rd quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 319 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. 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.