Truist Financial Boosts Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Price Target to $170.00

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) had its price target boosted by equities researchers at Truist Financial from $158.00 to $170.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the information services provider’s stock. Truist Financial’s price target indicates a potential upside of 9.35% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Roth Mkm lowered their price target on shares of Alphabet from $166.00 to $164.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $144.00 to $141.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reduced their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $174.00 to $172.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $157.00.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOGL traded up $1.07 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $155.47. 21,427,889 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 30,172,510. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $145.76 and a 200-day moving average of $140.19. Alphabet has a 52 week low of $102.63 and a 52 week high of $160.22. The stock has a market cap of $1.93 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.82, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a current ratio of 2.10.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The information services provider reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. Alphabet had a net margin of 24.01% and a return on equity of 27.22%. The business had revenue of $86.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.05 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Alphabet will post 6.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.70, for a total value of $2,985,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,332,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $309,548,095.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.56, for a total value of $127,648.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,991 shares in the company, valued at $1,275,043.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.70, for a total transaction of $2,985,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,332,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $309,548,095.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 228,839 shares of company stock worth $32,835,757. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GOOGL. Bornite Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at about $16,688,000. Markel Corp lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 17.0% in the first quarter. Markel Corp now owns 15,500 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $43,110,000 after purchasing an additional 2,250 shares in the last quarter. United Bank lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 5.9% in the first quarter. United Bank now owns 2,033 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,654,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 23.4% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 323,918 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $900,929,000 after purchasing an additional 61,427 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 20.4% in the first quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 9,279 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $25,806,000 after purchasing an additional 1,570 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

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.