Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Stock Price Down 2.2% – Here’s What Happened

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s stock price was down 2.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $341.13 and last traded at $346.12. 21,726,342 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 1% from the average daily volume of 21,493,637 shares. The stock had previously closed at $353.81.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street analysts remain constructive on Alphabet, with recent buy/outperform ratings and higher price targets suggesting meaningful upside if earnings and cloud growth hold up.
• Positive Sentiment: Reports highlight accelerating growth in Google Search and Google Cloud, which supports the view that Alphabet’s core businesses are still expanding strongly.
• Positive Sentiment: Investor interest remains elevated ahead of the July 22 earnings report, including retail accumulation and Berkshire Hathaway’s high-profile stake, both of which support sentiment.
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet is also drawing attention for new AI-related product updates and partnerships, including Google Vids, AI Mode app integrations, and work with AI search startup Parallel Web Systems.
• Negative Sentiment: The main pressure on GOOG is the reported delay of Gemini 3.5 Pro, which has intensified worries that Google is falling behind rivals in AI and could face margin pressure from heavier infrastructure spending.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and legal headlines, including EU actions on Android/search data and new securities-fraud investigations, add another layer of uncertainty for investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on GOOG shares. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Freedom Capital cut shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Truist Financial set a $430.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $383.44.

Alphabet Stock Down 2.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92. The company has a market cap of $4.19 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $367.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $336.58.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $106.96 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. Alphabet’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.81 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.32 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th were issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. This is a positive change from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 6.71%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The shares were 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. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total transaction of $2,077,531.25. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 159,415 shares of company stock worth $7,672,279. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 0.3% during the first quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,508 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,094,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 4,844 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,390,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Wisconsin Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.3% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Ring Mountain Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.9% in the 4th 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. boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.9% in the 4th 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 currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.