Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Given Consensus Rating of “Buy” by Brokerages

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the forty ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, thirty have given a buy recommendation and six have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $415.5455.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on GOOG shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 target price on Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “buy” rating and set a $475.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Roth Capital upped their price objective on Alphabet from $435.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $379.00 price objective (down from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet unveiled Gemini 3.8 Flash and its Fairwind program, developments that could strengthen its position in AI applications and increase monetization opportunities across Google’s ecosystem. Google Unveils Gemini 3.8 Flash and Fairwind Program
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary highlights Google Cloud’s growth reportedly running at roughly twice Azure’s rate while Alphabet trades at a lower valuation multiple, suggesting investors may be underestimating the company’s cloud and AI potential. Alphabet May Be the Mag 7 Stock Investors Are Underestimating
• Positive Sentiment: Reports say Berkshire Hathaway has accumulated a substantial Alphabet position, with Warren Buffett confirming he initiated the investment. The endorsement supports confidence in Alphabet’s long-term earnings power and valuation. Warren Buffett and Berkshire’s Alphabet Bet
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is also being presented as a potential “quiet winner” in the AI arms race, because its infrastructure, cloud business, and AI services could benefit even though it is not primarily a chip supplier. Alphabet as a Potential AI Arms-Race Winner
• Neutral Sentiment: Google is expanding an AI trial with Cathay Pacific to reduce aircraft contrails. The project reinforces Alphabet’s applied-AI capabilities but is unlikely to have a material near-term effect on revenue. Cathay Pacific and Google Expand AI Trials
• Negative Sentiment: Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square reportedly sold its entire Alphabet stake and bought Netflix instead, potentially weighing on sentiment. The report cited Alphabet’s aggressive AI infrastructure spending as a source of volatility. Bill Ackman Sells Alphabet Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts see strong revenue growth but a more muted earnings outlook, while massive AI investment is pressuring returns on capital and could raise concerns about profitability and capital efficiency. Alphabet Offers Revenue Growth but Muted Earnings Outlook
• Negative Sentiment: A law firm announced a securities-fraud investigation on behalf of Alphabet shareholders. No wrongdoing has been established, but the announcement creates a potential legal and reputational overhang. Alphabet Shareholder Securities-Fraud Investigation

Alphabet Price Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $335.31 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Alphabet has a 1-year low of $232.38 and a 1-year high of $404.47. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $346.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $341.18. The company has a market cap of $4.10 trillion, a P/E ratio of 16.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.21.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $9.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $6.24. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. The firm had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $116.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.31 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Alphabet will post 20.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 7th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 4.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 118,138 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.90, for a total value of $2,232,808.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.20, for a total transaction of $149,606.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 27,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,125,015.20. This trade represents a 1.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 451,925 shares of company stock worth $12,371,544 over the last quarter. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.1% in the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 30,490 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $10,773,000 after buying an additional 621 shares during the last quarter. Cygnus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 45.5% during the second quarter. Cygnus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 12,800 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $4,523,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the period. MLG Wealth Management DBA Pine Grove Financial Group boosted its position in Alphabet by 20.0% during the second quarter. MLG Wealth Management DBA Pine Grove Financial Group now owns 4,999 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,766,000 after purchasing an additional 834 shares during the period. Kinetic Wealth Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter valued at $246,000. Finally, Range Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 11.9% in the second quarter. Range Advisory LLC now owns 27,894 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $9,856,000 after purchasing an additional 2,965 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

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.