Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Receives $372.65 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) has received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the thirty-eight ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and six have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $372.6452.

Several brokerages have commented on GOOG. Freedom Capital cut shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Phillip Securities cut shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $345.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $385.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud delivered a standout Q1 result, with revenue up 63% to $20 billion, margin reaching 32.9%, and backlog rising to $462 billion. That reinforces Alphabet’s growing second engine beyond search and supports the bull case for further upside. GOOGL Rides on Surging Google Cloud Demand: More Upside Ahead?
• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud is also getting validation from new enterprise partnerships, including EQT’s rollout to help more than 300 portfolio companies adopt AI using Google Cloud tools. Private equity firm EQT partners with Google Cloud for AI rollout
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo news continues to suggest Alphabet’s autonomous-driving business may be undervalued, with the new Ojai robotaxi designed to lower fleet costs and expand capacity. That strengthens the long-term optionality in Alphabet’s non-advertising businesses. Waymo opens Ojai robotaxis to select riders as company aims to lower cost of fleet
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary from Jim Cramer was supportive, calling Alphabet a “crucial position” and saying “there’s a lot to like here,” which can help reinforce bullish sentiment among retail investors. Jim Cramer on Alphabet: “There’s a Lot to Like Here”
• Neutral Sentiment: Shares were also mentioned in analyst-style and market commentary framing Alphabet as a core AI and cloud beneficiary, but these pieces were largely reiterations rather than new catalysts.
• Negative Sentiment: An Indian court ruling on keyword ads could increase trademark and legal risk for Google’s search advertising business, raising concerns about a core profit driver. Indian court ruling on Google keyword ads could reshape online advertising
• Negative Sentiment: News that a Google engineer was charged in a $1.2 million Polymarket insider-trading case may create a modest reputational overhang, even though it is not a direct business or financial issue for Alphabet. US charges Google engineer with insider trading on Polymarket

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total value of $2,077,531.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total transaction of $2,481,078.77. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 51,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,293,309.12. The trade was a 14.79% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 226,481 shares of company stock worth $27,422,061. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its stake in Alphabet by 38,409.2% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 179,836,276 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,643,262,000 after acquiring an additional 179,369,280 shares during the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP increased its stake in Alphabet by 28,482.8% during the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 112,091,870 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $35,174,429,000 after acquiring an additional 111,699,704 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth approximately $18,093,665,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. increased its stake in Alphabet by 850.3% during the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 17,692,600 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,551,938,000 after acquiring an additional 15,830,754 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Alphabet by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 421,013,782 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $132,114,125,000 after acquiring an additional 8,128,234 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $376.43 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.56 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.25. 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 fifty day moving average of $343.28 and a 200 day moving average of $324.30. Alphabet has a fifty-two week low of $163.33 and a fifty-two week high of $404.47.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $2.43. The company had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.96 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. Alphabet’s quarterly revenue was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.81 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This is an increase from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.41%.

About Alphabet

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.