Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 60,150,000 shares, a decrease of 8.2% from the January 15th total of 65,510,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 28,740,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.1 days.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,367 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.41, for a total transaction of $232,950.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 23,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,007,191.15. This represents a 5.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total transaction of $3,239,868.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,471,620.22. This represents a 27.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 89,529 shares of company stock valued at $16,600,078 over the last quarter. 11.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. LMR Partners LLP purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Alphabet by 518.8% during the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp increased its holdings in Alphabet by 36.1% during the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 245 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL traded down $0.91 during trading on Monday, hitting $185.23. The company had a trading volume of 20,399,117 shares, compared to its average volume of 27,597,338. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $192.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $175.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 1.84. Alphabet has a 12 month low of $130.66 and a 12 month high of $207.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.27 trillion, a P/E ratio of 23.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.99.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Alphabet will post 8.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GOOGL. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Alphabet from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Alphabet from $210.00 to $208.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Roth Mkm raised their target price on Alphabet from $206.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Loop Capital raised their target price on Alphabet from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Alphabet from $232.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $210.62.

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.