BMO Capital Markets Issues Positive Forecast for Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Stock Price

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) had its price objective upped by BMO Capital Markets from $455.00 to $465.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the information services provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on GOOG. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Alphabet from $418.00 to $411.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Wolfe Research set a $460.00 price objective on Alphabet in a research report on Thursday. Pivotal Research upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $470.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of Alphabet from $375.00 to $350.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Phillip Securities downgraded shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Five investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $410.09.

Alphabet Stock Down 6.9%

Alphabet stock opened at $318.34 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.86 trillion, a P/E ratio of 15.99, a P/E/G 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 twelve month low of $188.70 and a twelve month high of $404.47. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $362.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $337.51.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $6.24. Alphabet had a return on equity of 57.20% and a net margin of 54.77%.The firm had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $116.53 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.31 earnings per share. Alphabet’s revenue was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Alphabet will post 14.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. 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 payout ratio is 6.71%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $341.72, for a total transaction of $153,432.28. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 27,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,345,358.56. This trade represents a 1.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total value of $3,142,911.42. Following 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 159,415 shares of company stock worth $7,672,279 over the last three months. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Towne Trust Company N.A raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting 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.

About Alphabet

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.