Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Receives “Buy” Rating from Royal Bank Of Canada

Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has a $475.00 price target on the information services provider’s stock.

GOOG has been the topic of several other research reports. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Alphabet from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. KeyCorp set a $445.00 price target on Alphabet in a report on Friday, July 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $420.00 price target (down from $435.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $379.00 price objective (down from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Alphabet from $418.00 to $411.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $410.09.

Alphabet Trading Down 6.9%

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $318.34 on Thursday. Alphabet has a 52-week low of $188.70 and a 52-week high of $404.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $362.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $337.51. The firm has a market cap of $3.86 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.23.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet will post 14.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of Alphabet 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 27,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,345,358.56. The trade was a 1.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 75,290 shares in the company, valued at $26,298,044.10. This trade represents a 10.68% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 159,415 shares of company stock worth $7,672,279 in the last three months. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GOOG. Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter worth $31,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Towne Trust Company N.A increased its position in Alphabet by 34.0% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet News Roundup

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.