Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Price Target Raised to $475.00

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) had its price objective boosted by Pivotal Research from $470.00 to $475.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Pivotal Research currently has a buy rating on the information services provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on GOOG. Freedom Capital lowered shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $416.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective (down from $445.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $410.09.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.2%

GOOG stock opened at $319.09 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 2.72. The company has a market capitalization of $3.87 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.03, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.23. Alphabet has a fifty-two week low of $188.70 and a fifty-two week high of $404.47. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $360.63 and a 200-day moving average of $337.38.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $6.24. Alphabet had a return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 54.77%.The company had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $116.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.31 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet will post 17.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $387,061.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $545,941.03. The trade was a 41.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 159,415 shares of company stock valued at $7,672,279. 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 company. Imprint Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Towne Trust Company N.A raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 34.0% in the 4th quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet posted a strong Q2 beat, with revenue and EPS coming in ahead of expectations, while Google Cloud revenue surged 82% and cloud margins improved sharply.
• Positive Sentiment: AI and product demand remain strong, with management saying AI usage is rising across Search, Cloud, and Gemini, supporting the long-term growth story.
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts reiterated bullish views or raised targets, and multiple commentary pieces argued the stock looks attractive after the pullback.
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon signed a deal worth more than $1 billion with Google for dark fiber connectivity, adding another sign of infrastructure demand tied to Alphabet’s data-center buildout. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Waymo is reportedly considering ending its Uber partnership, which could affect how quickly Alphabet’s robotaxi business scales, but the direct financial impact is still unclear. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet also disclosed a large SpaceX stake and saw some institutional holders trim positions, but these items are secondary to the main debate over AI spending and cash flow.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors were unnerved by Alphabet’s higher CapEx guidance and negative free cash flow, which raised concerns that AI spending may be outpacing near-term returns.
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet was also hit by an EU antitrust fine of about $1 billion, adding another regulatory overhang. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Moody’s warned that the industry-wide AI buildout could threaten credit quality at Alphabet and other hyperscalers, reinforcing concerns about balance-sheet strain from heavy infrastructure investment. Article Title

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.