Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Given New $411.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) had its price target lowered by Wells Fargo & Company from $418.00 to $411.00 in a report released on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the information services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $400.00 price objective (down from $445.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $379.00 target price (down from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $420.00 price objective (down from $435.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $410.09.

Alphabet Trading Down 6.9%

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $318.34 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $362.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $337.51. The company has a market cap of $3.86 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.99, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Alphabet has a 1 year low of $188.70 and a 1 year high of $404.47.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $6.24. The firm had revenue of $119.80 billion during 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $2.31 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet will post 14.34 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 7th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $341.72, for a total transaction of $153,432.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 27,348 shares in the company, valued at $9,345,358.56. This trade represents a 1.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total transaction of $3,142,911.42. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 75,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,298,044.10. This represents a 10.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 159,415 shares of company stock worth $7,672,279 in the last quarter. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet in the third quarter worth $31,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Towne Trust Company N.A grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

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.