Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Price Target Cut to $400.00 by Analysts at Raymond James Financial

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) had its price objective reduced by Raymond James Financial from $425.00 to $400.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have a strong-buy rating on the information services provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on GOOG. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $420.00 target price (down from $435.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price target on Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Alphabet from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Freedom Capital downgraded Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 target price (down from $445.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $410.09.

Alphabet Stock Down 6.9%

GOOG stock opened at $318.34 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92. Alphabet has a 1-year low of $188.70 and a 1-year high of $404.47. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $362.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $337.51. The firm 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.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $6.24. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 57.20%. The company had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $116.53 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.31 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Alphabet will post 14.34 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director owned 1,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $545,941.03. This represents a 41.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $341.72, for a total value of $153,432.28. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 27,348 shares in the company, valued at $9,345,358.56. This trade represents a 1.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 159,415 shares of company stock worth $7,672,279 over the last ninety days. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 120,253 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $22,901,000 after buying an additional 6,410 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 76.2% during the second quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,865,304 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $330,886,000 after buying an additional 806,681 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Alphabet during the second quarter valued at about $658,000. Financial Advisors Network Inc. grew its holdings in Alphabet by 7.7% during the second quarter. Financial Advisors Network Inc. now owns 7,945 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,409,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares during the period. Finally, Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. grew its holdings in Alphabet by 10.7% during the second quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 37,310 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $6,618,000 after acquiring an additional 3,616 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

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.

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.