Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Receives Average Rating of "Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst consensus: "Buy" — 39 brokerages cover Alphabet with 29 buys, 7 strong buys and 3 holds, and the average 1‑year price target is about $362.73 as several firms (e.g., Canaccord, Scotiabank, Wells Fargo) raised targets or upgraded ratings.
• Q1 beats and cloud momentum: Alphabet reported EPS $5.11 vs. ~$2.64 expected and revenue $109.9B, while Google Cloud grew ~63% to roughly $20B with an estimated ~$460B backlog, driving the recent rally and higher street expectations for AI monetization.
• Shareholder returns and risks: The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 and continues buybacks, but plans much higher 2026 capex (~$180–190B) that may pressure near‑term free cash flow, and regulatory probes in Europe and Brazil pose downside risk.

Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from the thirty-nine brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and seven have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $362.7333.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $330.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. KeyCorp set a $370.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $450.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $395.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd.

Alphabet Stock Up 10.0%

Alphabet stock opened at $381.94 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.62 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 2.01. Alphabet has a fifty-two week low of $149.49 and a fifty-two week high of $382.63. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $312.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $307.77.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.64 by $2.47. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.96 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 41.25%. The business's revenue was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.81 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Alphabet will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This is a positive change from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet's payout ratio is presently 7.77%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.41, for a total transaction of $318,580.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,631 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,405,091.71. The trade was a 18.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 955 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.00, for a total transaction of $284,590.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 9,918 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,955,564. The trade was a 8.78% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 191,884 shares of company stock worth $59,121,365. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Tradewinds LLC. lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 2,134.8% during the 3rd quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 45,098 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $10,984,000 after buying an additional 43,080 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 29,896 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $9,381,000 after purchasing an additional 2,341 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 31.3% in the 3rd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 354,529 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $86,345,000 after purchasing an additional 84,553 shares during the last quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 221,391 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $53,920,000 after purchasing an additional 2,009 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 157,143 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $38,272,000 after purchasing an additional 3,444 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 earnings materially beat expectations — EPS $5.11 vs. ~$2.63 consensus and revenue of $109.9B, which reset near-term growth expectations and drove the initial rally. Alphabet Q1 earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud surged ~63% to ~$20B and management cited a massive cloud backlog (~$460B), giving multi-year revenue visibility and validating AI monetization. Reuters: Cloud beats
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street is raising targets and upgrading ratings after the quarter (JPMorgan, TD Cowen, Scotiabank and others), providing fresh buy-side momentum and higher upside expectations. 247WallSt: Price target lifts
• Positive Sentiment: Product execution signals: Gemini AI is being rolled out to millions of vehicles and Waymo continues geographic expansion — both expand addressable markets for AI services and ads/subscriptions. TechCrunch: Gemini in cars Business Insider: Waymo growth
• Positive Sentiment: Capital returns: company raised the quarterly dividend (small yield) and continues large buybacks, supporting shareholder returns alongside growth.
• Neutral Sentiment: CapEx and cash-flow tradeoff — management raised 2026 capex guidance (to as much as ~$180–190B) to scale AI infrastructure; this supports long-term growth but will pressure free cash flow near term. CNBC: capex update
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory risk is rising — Italy has asked the EU to probe Google’s AI search tools and Switzerland opened a probe into alleged keyword bidding pacts; Brazil advanced an antitrust review — any adverse rulings could affect ad/product rules and monetization. Reuters: Italy probe Reuters: Switzerland probe

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.

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