Alphabet FY2026 EPS Estimate Boosted by Erste Group Bank

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) – Investment analysts at Erste Group Bank increased their FY2026 EPS estimates for shares of Alphabet in a report released on Tuesday, March 24th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now forecasts that the information services provider will post earnings of $11.48 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $11.44. The consensus estimate for Alphabet’s current full-year earnings is $8.89 per share. Erste Group Bank also issued estimates for Alphabet’s FY2027 earnings at $13.41 EPS.

GOOG has been the subject of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $400.00 price objective (up from $375.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $395.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $360.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $345.71.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $273.76 on Thursday. Alphabet has a 52 week low of $142.66 and a 52 week high of $350.15. The company has a quick ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $312.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $295.00. The company has a market cap of $3.31 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.10.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $113.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.24 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 35.01% and a net margin of 32.81%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.15 EPS.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ring Mountain Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Ring Mountain Capital LLC now owns 3,554 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,174,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. lifted its position in Alphabet by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. now owns 1,589 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $499,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. HRC Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. HRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,231 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,014,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Certior Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Certior Financial Group LLC now owns 919 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $288,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC now owns 4,124 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,294,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.41, for a total transaction of $318,580.50. Following the sale, the director owned 4,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,405,091.71. This represents a 18.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.99, for a total value of $33,934.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 18,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,580,469.82. This represents a 0.60% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 2,110,165 shares of company stock worth $118,134,117 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.77%.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is deepening its AI infrastructure ties by backing a massive Texas data‑center project to be leased by Anthropic — a strategic move that secures capacity for large AI models and strengthens a key partner relationship. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street has been raising targets: Needham and other analysts have issued $400+/high‑3xx targets and firms like Wells Fargo raised theirs recently — supporting medium‑term upside narratives despite the pullback. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamentals remain strong: recent quarterly beats, accelerating Google Cloud backlog (~$240B reported), and rapid Gemini adoption underpin revenue visibility and long‑term growth expectations. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Google Research’s TurboQuant memory‑compression work has spooked memory suppliers but can be a net positive for Alphabet — lower AI infrastructure costs and greater model efficiency improve margins and competitive positioning. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Technically the stock is in a correction from its highs and some commentators frame the selloff as a buying opportunity; price action below key short‑term supports is increasing volatility but not yet changing the longer‑term bull case. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Legal risk intensified after a high‑profile jury found YouTube (Alphabet) liable in a social‑media addiction bellwether case — the direct damages are small but the ruling increases headline and litigation risk across many pending suits and could force product or regulatory changes that hit engagement/ads. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market and geopolitical pressures: a tech sector selloff (Nasdaq weakness, Iran war worries) and legal blows to peers like Meta have amplified outflows from large cap tech, pressuring GOOG along with the group. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Institutional/insider moves and high‑profile position trims (reported sales and some billionaire reductions) add selling pressure and headline risk in the near term. Read More.

Alphabet Company Profile

Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) is a multinational technology holding company headquartered in Mountain View, California. Formed in 2015 through a corporate restructuring of Google, Alphabet serves as the parent to Google LLC and a portfolio of businesses collectively known as “Other Bets.” Google was originally founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin; Alphabet is led by CEO Sundar Pichai, who oversees Google and the broader company while the founders remain prominent shareholders and influential figures in the company’s history.

Alphabet’s core business centers on internet search and advertising, with Google Search and the company’s ad platforms (including Google Ads and AdSense) generating the majority of revenue by connecting advertisers with consumers worldwide.