Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on GOOGL. Bank of America raised their price target 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. Wall Street Zen raised Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Evercore lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $425.00 target price on Alphabet and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $413.73.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $359.51 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $4.36 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.42, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92. Alphabet has a fifty-two week low of $180.48 and a fifty-two week high of $408.61. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $371.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $337.22.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $2.47. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.98 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Alphabet will post 14.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th were paid 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 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 6.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $387,061.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $545,941.03. This trade represents a 41.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total value of $2,077,531.25. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 159,415 shares of company stock valued at $7,672,279 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 11.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Alphabet by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 528,969,322 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $165,567,398,000 after purchasing an additional 12,531,695 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 229,954,269 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $40,524,841,000 after acquiring an additional 4,008,374 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 146,193,037 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $45,625,595,000 after purchasing an additional 2,666,676 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth $30,534,239,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Alphabet by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 69,108,183 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $21,630,861,000 after buying an additional 3,218,852 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is being highlighted by analysts and market commentators as a top large-cap or “monopoly” stock, with bullish takes pointing to its AI-enabled ad business, cloud exposure, and strong earnings outlook. Here’s Why Alphabet (GOOGL) Is One of the Best Monopoly Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds
• Positive Sentiment: Google DeepMind chief Demis Hassabis called for a U.S.-led AI standards body, reinforcing Alphabet’s leadership role in frontier AI development and potentially supporting long-term investor confidence. Google DeepMind chief Demis Hassabis calls for U.S. to spearhead AI standards body
• Positive Sentiment: INVIDI announced a collaboration with Google to expand addressable advertising on unconnected set-top boxes, a potentially incremental ad monetization opportunity for Alphabet. INVIDI Technologies Collaborates with Google to Integrate Google Ad Manager…
• Neutral Sentiment: Several reports say Alphabet continues to outperform the market and remains favored by growth investors, but these are mostly commentary pieces rather than new business developments. Alphabet Inc. (GOOG) Exceeds Market Returns: Some Facts to Consider
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are also digesting broader optimism around Alphabet’s valuation, cash generation, and AI chip strategy, which supports the stock but does not appear to be the main driver of the move. Google Vs. Nvidia: The Hidden Silicon Advantage That Could Let Google Dethrone Nvidia
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet is facing fresh antitrust scrutiny in Switzerland over the removal of the Android “choice screen,” adding to regulatory pressure on its search dominance. Google probed by Swiss regulator over Android default search feature
• Negative Sentiment: Google also faces a new class-action lawsuit from publishers and authors alleging improper use of copyrighted works to train Gemini, raising legal and potential cost risks. Google faces another AI training lawsuit from major publishers
• Negative Sentiment: UK and Swiss regulatory actions targeting Google Search and Android data portability also weigh on sentiment because they could weaken Alphabet’s search moat over time. Should UK Search Data Portability Rules For Google Reshape Alphabet’s Competitive Moat (GOOGL) Narrative?

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.