Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifty-four research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, forty-seven have assigned a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $413.5367.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $390.00 target price (up from $345.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $460.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Truist Financial set a $430.00 price objective on Alphabet and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Dbs Bank upped their price objective on Alphabet from $400.00 to $460.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $425.00 price objective on Alphabet and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total value of $2,077,531.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $341.72, for a total transaction of $153,432.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 27,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,345,358.56. The trade was a 1.62% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 160,465 shares of company stock valued at $8,020,511 over the last 90 days. 11.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GOOGL. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. EMC Capital Management purchased a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. PMV Capital Advisers LLC bought a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $52,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.4%

NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $361.92 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $372.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $335.93. Alphabet has a one year low of $172.77 and a one year high of $408.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92. The company has a market capitalization of $4.39 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.24.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $2.47. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The company had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.98 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Alphabet will post 14.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. This is a boost from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 6.71%.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Waymo plans to expand driverless rides to four more major cities this year, with a phased rollout that could broaden Alphabet’s autonomous vehicle opportunity and reinforce its leadership in robotaxis. Waymo Plans to Expand Driverless Cars to 4 More Major Cities This Year
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet continues to be highlighted as a beneficiary of massive AI infrastructure spending, with analysts pointing to strong demand for cloud expansion, data centers, and AI hardware. 3 Top-Ranked Stocks Riding on Massive AI Infrastructure Spending
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet was cited as an indirect way to gain exposure to Anthropic ahead of a possible IPO, since the company already holds a major private stake in the AI startup. Want Anthropic Exposure Before the IPO? These 2 AI Giants Are Already There (GOOGL)
• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway reportedly added a $10 billion private placement investment in Alphabet, a sign of institutional confidence that could support sentiment in the stock. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Successor, Greg Abel, Just Bought More of This Magnificent Tech Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Cognizant deepened its Google Cloud partnership to accelerate enterprise AI adoption, which underscores Alphabet’s cloud relevance but is not a direct financial catalyst by itself. Cognizant Strengthens AI Portfolio Through Google Cloud Partnership
• Neutral Sentiment: Google’s upcoming Pixel launch event on August 12 keeps hardware in view, but this is more of a product-calendar reminder than an immediate stock-moving catalyst. Google’s Pixel event is set for August 12
• Negative Sentiment: Google updated the Chrome Web Store to ban prediction market transactions, a policy move that may be seen as restrictive and could attract backlash from affected users and developers. Google Bans Prediction Market Transactions Amid Backlash
• Negative Sentiment: One article noted Alphabet shares were already slipping versus the broader market, adding to the intraday weakness as traders weigh valuation and AI competition concerns. Alphabet Inc. (GOOG) Sees a More Significant Dip Than Broader Market: Some Facts to Know

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc is the holding company created in 2015 to organize Google and a portfolio of businesses developing technologies beyond Google’s core internet services. Its principal operations are led by Google, which builds and operates consumer-facing products such as Google Search, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Gmail, Google Maps and Google Workspace, as well as advertising platforms (Google Ads and AdSense) that historically generate the majority of its revenue. Google also develops consumer hardware (Pixel phones, Nest smart-home devices, Chromecast) and developer and distribution platforms such as Google Play.

Beyond Google’s consumer and advertising businesses, Alphabet invests in enterprise and infrastructure offerings through Google Cloud, which provides cloud computing, data analytics and productivity services to businesses and institutions.