Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Receives Consensus Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) has earned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the thirty-eight brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and six have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $362.7333.

A number of equities analysts have commented on GOOG shares. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $348.00 target price (up from $345.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. DZ Bank raised Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 16th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, KeyCorp set a $370.00 price target on Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total value of $2,481,078.77. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 51,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,293,309.12. This trade represents a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.89, for a total transaction of $10,006,425.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,642,060 shares in the company, valued at approximately $505,573,853.40. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 158,553 shares of company stock valued at $47,951,856. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GOOG. Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Tripletail Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $395.30 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.78 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $317.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $311.59. Alphabet has a 52-week low of $153.83 and a 52-week high of $397.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $2.43. The business had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.96 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.81 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Alphabet will post 14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This is a boost from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.71%.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 momentum and Anthropic cloud deal continue to underpin the rally — social and analyst chatter notes a post-earnings surge, AI-fueled ad strength and a reported ~$200B Anthropic commitment that materially boosts Alphabet’s cloud backlog and revenue visibility. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and higher price targets — Mizuho and other firms have raised forecasts and targets (examples around $460+), supporting upside expectations and helping push the stock higher. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional buying reported — a handful of funds disclosed fresh additions (Swiss National Bank, Allen Investment, Fisher Asset among others), signaling conviction from large holders. Read More. • Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: New consumer products and subscription moves could expand monetization but are early-stage — Google launched the Fitbit Air wearable and an AI health-coach subscription, which add recurring-revenue potential but are not yet material to near-term results. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: EU regulatory risk remains — Alphabet has proposed changes to news search to head off additional multibillion-euro fines, highlighting ongoing antitrust exposure that could pressure European revenue or require product changes. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider and some institutional selling — data show heavy insider sales in recent months and several large funds (Deutsche Bank, CalPERS, Madison) trimmed GOOG positions, which can cap short-term upside and increase volatility. Read More. • 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.