Freedom Capital downgraded shares of Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG – Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.
Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on GOOG. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $348.00 price objective (up from $345.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $362.73.
Read Our Latest Research Report on GOOG
Alphabet Stock Performance
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG – 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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $2.43. The company had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.96 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.Alphabet’s revenue was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.81 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet will post 12.78 EPS for the current year.
Alphabet Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a boost from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 6.71%.
Insider Activity at Alphabet
In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.41, for a total value of $318,580.50. Following the sale, the director owned 4,631 shares in the company, valued at $1,405,091.71. The trade was a 18.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 47,574 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.45, for a total value of $14,341,182.30. Following the transaction, the insider owned 13,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,987,279.15. The trade was a 78.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 191,053 shares of company stock worth $58,845,206 over the last ninety days. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet
Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Alphabet by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 421,013,782 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $132,114,125,000 after purchasing an additional 8,128,234 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 187,102,863 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $58,712,878,000 after buying an additional 953,790 shares during the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 38,409.2% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 179,836,276 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,643,262,000 after buying an additional 179,369,280 shares in the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 28,482.8% in the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 112,091,870 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $35,174,429,000 after acquiring an additional 111,699,704 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Alphabet by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 100,602,893 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $31,569,189,000 after acquiring an additional 1,073,151 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.
Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet
Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Very strong Q1 fundamentals: EPS and revenue beat expectations, Google Cloud growth and a vastly larger backlog underpin the company’s AI monetization runway, supporting upside case. Alphabet (GOOGL) Stock Soars 34% in April Following Stellar Q1 Earnings
- Positive Sentiment: Wall Street bullishness: Several analysts and firms have raised price targets and spotlighted Alphabet’s custom AI strategy (one high-profile target set at $515), which supports longer-term upside. ‘This Is Bigger Than It Looks,’ Says Top Analyst on Alphabet Stock (GOOGL), Sets Street-High $515 Price Target
- Positive Sentiment: Institutional buying signals: Some funds (e.g., Mirae Asset) increased GOOGL exposure in recent 13F filings, indicating continued institutional demand behind the AI story. Fund Update: Mirae Asset Global Investments Co., Ltd. Just Disclosed New Holdings
- Neutral Sentiment: Euro bond offering to fund AI buildout: Alphabet tapped the euro bond market across six tranches (€3bn reported) to help finance AI data centers — this funds growth but increases leverage and prompted a near-term market reaction. Alphabet taps euro bond market with six-tranche offering
- Neutral Sentiment: Government model reviews and defense work: Alphabet, Microsoft and xAI agreed to give US agencies early access to models for security reviews — a sign of regulatory cooperation but with unclear commercial impact. Microsoft, xAI and Google will share AI models with US govt for security reviews
- Negative Sentiment: Defense contract controversy and labor friction: Reports of a classified DoD AI contract and employee protests (plus a UK DeepMind union vote) raise reputational and employee-relations risks that can create PR/headline volatility. Alphabet’s Defense AI Work Tests Employee Relations And Long Term Risk
- Negative Sentiment: Fund selling and downgrade pressure: The State of Michigan cut its GOOGL position in filings and at least one boutique firm downgraded the stock from strong-buy to hold, adding short-term selling pressure. Fund Update: STATE OF MICHIGAN RETIREMENT SYSTEM Just Disclosed New Holdings Freedom Capital Downgrade via Zacks
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.
Further Reading
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