Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Given Buy Rating at TD Cowen

TD Cowen restated their buy rating on shares of Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) in a research report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $475.00 price target on the information services provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Roth Capital upped their target price on Alphabet from $435.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $395.00 target price (down from $445.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $425.00 target price (up from $405.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Alphabet from $395.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $410.09.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $318.34 on Thursday. Alphabet has a twelve month low of $188.70 and a twelve month high of $404.47. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $362.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $337.51. The company has a market capitalization of $3.86 trillion, a PE ratio of 15.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.23. 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 (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $6.24. The business had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $116.53 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 57.20%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.31 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet will post 14.34 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. 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 is currently 6.71%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $387,061.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,481 shares in the company, valued at $545,941.03. This trade represents a 41.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $9,345,358.56. The trade was a 1.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 159,415 shares of company stock valued at $7,672,279. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.0% during 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 period. State Street Corp grew its position in Alphabet by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 187,102,863 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $58,712,878,000 after purchasing an additional 953,790 shares during the period. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its position in 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 valued at $5,643,262,000 after purchasing an additional 179,369,280 shares during the period. J. Stern & Co. LLP grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 111,699,704 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Alphabet by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 100,602,893 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $31,569,189,000 after purchasing an additional 1,073,151 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet posted blockbuster Q2 results, with revenue up 24% to $119.8 billion and EPS of $9.11, while Google Cloud revenue jumped 82% year over year and YouTube ad revenue also remained strong.
• Positive Sentiment: Management and analysts said AI demand is still outpacing capacity, suggesting Alphabet’s spending is supporting long-term growth rather than just driving costs.
• Positive Sentiment: Several Wall Street firms kept bullish ratings or raised targets, saying the pullback may be creating an attractive entry point despite near-term volatility.
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet disclosed a large stake in SpaceX, which some investors view as an additional valuable asset on the balance sheet.
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, a modest capital-return move that is unlikely to be a major near-term driver given the stock’s much larger AI investment story.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several funds and institutions disclosed portfolio changes in GOOG, with some adding shares and others trimming, reflecting mixed but ongoing institutional interest.
• Neutral Sentiment: Google also rolled out small product updates such as selfie-video sign-in and easier iPhone-to-Android switching, which are positive for engagement but not material stock catalysts.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are worried about Alphabet’s sharply higher capital spending guidance for 2026 and a first-ever quarterly negative free cash flow reading, raising concerns that AI investments may take longer to pay off.
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet ended its long-running quarterly buyback pattern, which removes a steady source of support for the shares.
• Negative Sentiment: The company also faces fresh regulatory and legal pressure, including an about $1 billion EU antitrust fine and multiple securities-fraud investigations.
• Negative Sentiment: Reports of declining Google search traffic from AI overviews and concerns about publisher partnerships add another overhang to the core search business.

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.