Erste Group Bank Forecasts Stronger Earnings for Alphabet

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) – Erste Group Bank raised their FY2026 EPS estimates for shares of Alphabet in a note issued to investors on Thursday, June 25th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now forecasts that the information services provider will post earnings per share of $14.27 for the year, up from their previous forecast of $14.25. The consensus estimate for Alphabet’s current full-year earnings is $14.30 per share.

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

Several other research analysts also recently commented on GOOG. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Alphabet from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Freedom Capital downgraded Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Phillip Securities cut Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $395.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Four 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $376.78.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $351.28 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Alphabet has a twelve month low of $173.88 and a twelve month high of $404.47. The stock has a market cap of $4.26 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.23. The company’s fifty day moving average is $366.70 and its 200 day moving average is $332.30.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 6.71%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The shares were 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 directly owned 27,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,345,358.56. This trade represents a 1.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total transaction of $2,077,531.25. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 151,972 shares of company stock worth $5,016,958. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 38,409.2% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 179,836,276 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,643,262,000 after acquiring an additional 179,369,280 shares during the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP increased its holdings in Alphabet by 28,482.8% during the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 112,091,870 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $35,174,429,000 after purchasing an additional 111,699,704 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $18,093,665,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 850.3% in the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 17,692,600 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,551,938,000 after purchasing an additional 15,830,754 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 421,013,782 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $132,114,125,000 after purchasing an additional 8,128,234 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Alphabet News

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.