Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ) director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the company’s YouTube stock in a recent insider transaction. On October 30, 2024, this move occurred worth $1,898,190, given an average share price of $180.78 per share. After this sale, Shriram is still a major holder of 330,466 shares in Alphabet, now worth about $59.7 million.
Following this transaction Alphabet Inc., a top information service provider in the world, saw a slight stock increase. During Friday’s midday trading session, GOOGL shares were trading at $171.29, up by $0.18. On a day when the average daily trading volume stands at 27.2 million shares, volume jumped to 31.7 million shares.
Alphabet Stock Performance Overview
Alphabet is known for its stability and growth potential, although with a market capitalization of $2.11 trillion, it doesn’t have any highs. Financial indicators for the company include a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.72, a price-to-earnings-to-growth ratio of 1.29, and a beta of 1.04, which is a stock that is less volatile than the market. Alphabet’s 52-week performance is between a low of ($126.93) and a high of ($191.75). Alphabet’s liquidity position and low debt obligations are shown through key financial ratios – a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.95, and a quick ratio of 2.08.
Investor confidence was further solidified after Alphabet’s recent quarterly earnings report. Alphabet was released on October 29, 2024, and posted some EPS of $2.12, which was above analysts’ expectations of $1.83 by $0.29. For the same period a year ago, the company reported $1.55 EPS. It also earned $88.27 billion in revenue, up from the expected $72.85 billion. Alphabet hit a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%, indicating robust profitability.
Alphabet Dividend and Institutional Activity
Alphabet also announced a quarterly dividend payout to stockholders, in addition to the recent insider trading. A dividend of $0.20 per share is payable to shareholders on record at the close of business on December 9, 2024, with a payment date of December 16, 2024. That comes out to an annualized dividend of $0.80 per share, a dividend yield of 0.47%, and a payout ratio of 10.61%.
Alphabet stock is attractive to institutional investors. Several hedge funds and asset management firms changed positions recently. For example, Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc. raised its position by 75 percent during the second quarter; it now has 140 shares worth $26,000. Other new Alphabet positions established by Tributary Capital Management LLC, Kings Path Partners LLC, and Denver PWM LLC serve as signals of additional investment in Alphabet’s future growth.
Analysts’ Ratings and Target Prices
Analysts remain positive on Alphabet and raise price targets. As an example of this, Wells Fargo & Company recently raised its price objective to $187 and maintained an “equal weight” rating. JPMorgan Chase, meanwhile, forecast a price of $208 and said it was overweight on the stock, while Bank of America set a target near $210. Each assigned a ‘buy’ rating and raised their targets to $220 and $205 for TD Securities and Guggenheim, respectively.
By and large, the investment community likes Alphabet, rating it a “Moderate Buy.” Of the 42 analysts covering Alphabet, seven rates it a “hold,” thirty-one say it’s a “buy” and four say it’s a “strong buy”, according to data from MarketBeat. Broad confidence in the growth potential of Alphabet manifests in an average target price of $205.51.
Alphabet’s Global Reach and Products
Alphabet is a technology company that ranks among the leading players in the industry with lots of products and platforms on various continents. Alphabet operates through its Google Services, Google Cloud, and Other Bets segments and offers known tools like Google Search, YouTube, Gmail, Google Maps, and Google Play. Alphabet delivers these services to millions of users a day, and it is a key part of global digital infrastructure.
Should You Invest in Alphabet Now?
TheTechBasic tracks recommendations from top analysts, many of whom tip their picks long before major market moves. It comes as a surprise that YouTube Stock did not make it to our latest list of highly recommended stocks and hence other stocks might offer better growth opportunities.
