Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Alphabet has a “Moderate Buy” consensus from 54 brokerages, with 47 buy ratings and an average 1-year price target of about $413.54. Several firms recently raised targets or reiterated bullish ratings on the stock.
• Recent financial results were strong, as Alphabet reported Q1 earnings of $5.11 per share, beating estimates by a wide margin, while revenue also topped expectations at $109.9 billion. Analysts now expect full-year EPS of 14.32.
• Alphabet is also seeing positive signals from capital returns and institutional interest, including a small dividend increase to $0.22 per share quarterly and continued hedge fund accumulation. However, insiders have also sold shares in recent months.

Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the fifty-four brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, forty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $413.5367.

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Roth Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $425.00 price target on shares of Alphabet and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $370.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $420.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, June 22nd.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $393.26, for a total transaction of $412,923.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $995,341.06. This trade represents a 29.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $341.72, for a total value of $153,432.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 27,348 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,345,358.56. The trade was a 1.62% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 160,465 shares of company stock worth $8,020,511. Company insiders own 11.61% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GOOGL. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 2.9% in the second quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,462 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,595,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 29.8% in the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 95,926 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $34,281,000 after purchasing an additional 22,044 shares during the period. Platt Investment Counsel LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 28.9% in the 2nd quarter. Platt Investment Counsel LLC now owns 928 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $332,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 33.7% in the second quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 6,890 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,462,000 after purchasing an additional 1,735 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baring Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 6.6% in the second quarter. Baring Financial LLC now owns 5,045 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,803,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $361.92 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.39 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.24. Alphabet has a twelve month low of $172.77 and a twelve month high of $408.61. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $372.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $335.93.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $2.47. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.98 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Alphabet will post 14.32 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is presently 6.71%.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Waymo plans to expand driverless rides to four more major cities this year, with a phased rollout that could broaden Alphabet’s autonomous vehicle opportunity and reinforce its leadership in robotaxis. Waymo Plans to Expand Driverless Cars to 4 More Major Cities This Year
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet continues to be highlighted as a beneficiary of massive AI infrastructure spending, with analysts pointing to strong demand for cloud expansion, data centers, and AI hardware. 3 Top-Ranked Stocks Riding on Massive AI Infrastructure Spending
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet was cited as an indirect way to gain exposure to Anthropic ahead of a possible IPO, since the company already holds a major private stake in the AI startup. Want Anthropic Exposure Before the IPO? These 2 AI Giants Are Already There (GOOGL)
• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway reportedly added a $10 billion private placement investment in Alphabet, a sign of institutional confidence that could support sentiment in the stock. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Successor, Greg Abel, Just Bought More of This Magnificent Tech Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Cognizant deepened its Google Cloud partnership to accelerate enterprise AI adoption, which underscores Alphabet’s cloud relevance but is not a direct financial catalyst by itself. Cognizant Strengthens AI Portfolio Through Google Cloud Partnership
• Neutral Sentiment: Google’s upcoming Pixel launch event on August 12 keeps hardware in view, but this is more of a product-calendar reminder than an immediate stock-moving catalyst. Google's Pixel event is set for August 12
• Negative Sentiment: Google updated the Chrome Web Store to ban prediction market transactions, a policy move that may be seen as restrictive and could attract backlash from affected users and developers. Google Bans Prediction Market Transactions Amid Backlash
• Negative Sentiment: One article noted Alphabet shares were already slipping versus the broader market, adding to the intraday weakness as traders weigh valuation and AI competition concerns. Alphabet Inc. (GOOG) Sees a More Significant Dip Than Broader Market: Some Facts to Know

Alphabet Company Profile

Alphabet Inc is the holding company created in 2015 to organize Google and a portfolio of businesses developing technologies beyond Google's core internet services. Its principal operations are led by Google, which builds and operates consumer-facing products such as Google Search, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Gmail, Google Maps and Google Workspace, as well as advertising platforms (Google Ads and AdSense) that historically generate the majority of its revenue. Google also develops consumer hardware (Pixel phones, Nest smart-home devices, Chromecast) and developer and distribution platforms such as Google Play.

Beyond Google's consumer and advertising businesses, Alphabet invests in enterprise and infrastructure offerings through Google Cloud, which provides cloud computing, data analytics and productivity services to businesses and institutions.

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