Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Lowered to Hold Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on GOOG. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Alphabet from $418.00 to $411.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. KeyCorp set a $445.00 price objective on Alphabet in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $420.00 target price (down from $435.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $410.09.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.0%

GOOG opened at $356.62 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $354.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $338.85. Alphabet has a 52 week low of $195.22 and a 52 week high of $404.47. The company has a market capitalization of $4.36 trillion, a PE ratio of 17.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 2.64, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $6.24. Alphabet had a return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 54.77%.The firm had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $116.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.31 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Alphabet will post 20.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 4.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 82 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.39, for a total transaction of $27,337.98. Following the sale, the director directly owned 18,914 shares in the company, valued at $6,305,738.46. This represents a 0.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.20, for a total value of $149,606.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 27,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,125,015.20. The trade was a 1.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 600,547 shares of company stock valued at $16,255,540. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,508 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,094,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.6% during the first quarter. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 4,844 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,390,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Wisconsin Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.3% during the second quarter. Wisconsin Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,223 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $785,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Ring Mountain Capital LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $1,174,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s planned 10-part bond offering of up to $25 billion was met with approximately $115 billion in investor orders, indicating strong confidence in the company’s credit quality and long-term AI strategy. The funds are intended to support data-center expansion and other infrastructure investments. Google’s AI Bond Sale Attracts $115 Billion of Orders
• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud continues to benefit from strong AI demand, while AI lab Mirendil signed a multiyear, $100 million-plus agreement to obtain computing capacity from Google Cloud. Such contracts could help monetize Alphabet’s substantial AI infrastructure spending. Mirendil Inks $100M+ Google Cloud Deal
• Neutral Sentiment: The debt sale gives Alphabet additional flexibility to fund its roughly $205 billion AI infrastructure plan, but it also increases borrowing and raises questions about returns on capital. Strong demand for the bonds reduces near-term financing risk, although investors are likely to scrutinize spending discipline and future profitability. Alphabet Seeks Up to $25 Billion From Bond Sale
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet is facing renewed concerns about its ability to lead in frontier AI after chief scientist Jeff Dean departed to launch a startup with other researchers, while DeepMind chief Demis Hassabis moved away from day-to-day management into a broader chief scientist role. The departures heighten fears of a talent drain and potential disruption to Gemini and other AI initiatives. Google Shakes Up AI Leadership
• Negative Sentiment: Commentary suggests Google Cloud’s commercial growth is competing for scarce computing resources and management attention with DeepMind’s longer-term AI research, adding execution risk as Alphabet attempts to scale both businesses. Alphabet’s Cloud Growth Straining Its Frontier AI Push

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.