Erste Group Bank Raises Earnings Estimates for Alphabet

Key Points

• Erste Group Bank slightly raised its FY2026 earnings estimate for Alphabet to $14.27 per share from $14.25, just below the current consensus of $14.30.
• Alphabet continues to have generally bullish analyst support, with multiple firms maintaining or raising price targets and the stock carrying an overall Buy consensus rating.
• The company’s latest quarterly results were strong, with earnings of $5.11 per share and revenue of $109.9 billion, both ahead of expectations and up 21.8% year over year.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) - Erste Group Bank increased their FY2026 earnings estimates for shares of Alphabet in a report released on Thursday, June 25th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now expects that the information services provider will post earnings of $14.27 per share for the year, up from their previous estimate of $14.25. The consensus estimate for Alphabet's current full-year earnings is $14.30 per share.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on GOOG. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $450.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Phillip Securities downgraded Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Truist Financial set a $430.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Pivotal Research reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $470.00 price objective (up from $420.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $376.78.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $351.28 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.26 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.23. The business's 50 day moving average is $366.70 and its 200-day moving average is $332.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Alphabet has a 1-year low of $173.88 and a 1-year high of $404.47.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $2.43. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $106.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.81 EPS. The business's revenue was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a positive change from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $381.00, for a total transaction of $38,862.00. Following the sale, the director owned 18,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,132,701. This trade represents a 0.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 27,348 shares in the company, valued at $9,345,358.56. This trade represents a 1.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 151,972 shares of company stock valued at $5,016,958 over the last three months. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 120,253 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $22,901,000 after buying an additional 6,410 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 76.2% in the 2nd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,865,304 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $330,886,000 after acquiring an additional 806,681 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at $658,000. Financial Advisors Network Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Advisors Network Inc. now owns 7,945 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,409,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. grew its position in Alphabet by 10.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 37,310 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $6,618,000 after acquiring an additional 3,616 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s inclusion in the Dow Jones is driving index-fund buying and signaling elevated status among large-cap tech names, which has supported the stock. Alphabet debuts in Dow Jones Industrial Average as index tilts toward tech
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are also encouraged by ongoing AI and cloud demand, with articles citing strong revenue growth, expanding backlog, and the possibility that Google’s compute constraints reflect robust customer demand rather than weakness. GOOGL Stock Gets Dow Boost, but Investors Question Alphabet’s AI Spending Payoff
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains supportive, with several firms maintaining buy or outperform ratings and price targets well above the current trading range. Jefferies Maintain a Buy Rating on Alphabet (GOOGL)
• Neutral Sentiment: One insider sale was disclosed, but the transaction was relatively small and does not appear material enough on its own to change the investment thesis. Alphabet insider sale filing
• Negative Sentiment: Some investors remain concerned that Alphabet’s heavy AI spending may take time to translate into returns, and reports of compute shortages or capped Gemini access could raise questions about near-term margins and capacity. Google Limits Meta's AI Access

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.

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