Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock Price Up 2.2% Following Analyst Upgrade

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) was up 2.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Phillip Securities upgraded the stock from a moderate buy rating to a strong-buy rating. The company traded as high as $335.88 and last traded at $333.71. 28,868,400 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 11% from the average session volume of 32,416,027 shares. The stock had previously closed at $326.56.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on GOOGL. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $370.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Pivotal Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $475.00 price objective (up from $470.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $425.00 price objective (up from $405.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $420.00 target price (down from $435.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial set a $420.00 target price on Alphabet and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $419.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 23,417 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.88, for a total value of $442,112.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 285,049 shares of company stock worth $10,051,351. 11.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street support strengthened after Phillip Securities upgraded Alphabet to “strong buy,” while KeyCorp raised its FY2028 earnings estimate to $17.88 per share and maintained an “Overweight” rating with a $445 price target. Zacks
• Positive Sentiment: Several investors and prominent value managers disclosed larger Alphabet positions, reinforcing the view that the stock’s valuation and recent correction offer an attractive entry point. Alphabet Investor Positions
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s latest results showed an earnings and revenue beat, accelerating Google Cloud growth, and continued Search demand. Analysts argue that early AI monetization may help offset concerns about elevated investment. Alphabet Q2 Earnings Analysis
• Positive Sentiment: YouTube reached a multiyear agreement with NBCUniversal to add Peacock content for U.S. YouTube Premium subscribers, potentially improving the platform’s content offering and subscriber value. YouTube and Peacock Agreement

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 477 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $137,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Rockbridge Investment Management LCC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Rockbridge Investment Management LCC now owns 5,460 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,570,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Ruggaard & Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Ruggaard & Associates LLC now owns 2,921 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $840,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Cadia Private Client LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Cadia Private Client LLC now owns 2,589 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $744,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evansbrook LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 0.3% in the first quarter. Evansbrook LLC now owns 9,522 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,738,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average is $361.53 and its 200-day moving average is $338.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.04 trillion, a P/E ratio of 16.76, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 2.64, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $6.22. Alphabet had a return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 54.77%.The firm had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $117.07 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 17.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 7th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.42%.

About Alphabet

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.