JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Price Target to $420.00

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) had its target price trimmed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $460.00 to $420.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the information services provider’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Zacks Research upgraded Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 price target (down from $445.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Alphabet from $415.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Rosenblatt Securities set a $393.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday. Finally, Freedom Capital cut shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $410.09.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $319.09 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 2.72. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $360.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $337.38. Alphabet has a fifty-two week low of $188.70 and a fifty-two week high of $404.47. The company has a market cap of $3.87 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.03, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.23.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $116.53 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 54.77%.Alphabet’s revenue was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.31 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet will post 17.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 7th will be paid 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 (DPR) is currently 4.42%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total value of $2,077,531.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total transaction of $3,142,911.42. Following the transaction, the insider owned 75,290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,298,044.10. The trade was a 10.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 159,415 shares of company stock valued at $7,672,279 over the last three months. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kathmere Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 29,896 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $9,381,000 after acquiring an additional 2,341 shares in the last quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management boosted its stake in Alphabet by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management now owns 275,943 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $86,596,000 after acquiring an additional 2,850 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Alphabet by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 60,739 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $19,060,000 after purchasing an additional 4,239 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 190,654 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $59,827,000 after purchasing an additional 15,280 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Violich Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Violich Capital Management Inc. now owns 340,776 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $106,936,000 after purchasing an additional 3,378 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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 a strong Q2 beat, with revenue and EPS coming in ahead of expectations, while Google Cloud revenue surged 82% and cloud margins improved sharply.
• Positive Sentiment: AI and product demand remain strong, with management saying AI usage is rising across Search, Cloud, and Gemini, supporting the long-term growth story.
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts reiterated bullish views or raised targets, and multiple commentary pieces argued the stock looks attractive after the pullback.
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon signed a deal worth more than $1 billion with Google for dark fiber connectivity, adding another sign of infrastructure demand tied to Alphabet’s data-center buildout. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Waymo is reportedly considering ending its Uber partnership, which could affect how quickly Alphabet’s robotaxi business scales, but the direct financial impact is still unclear. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet also disclosed a large SpaceX stake and saw some institutional holders trim positions, but these items are secondary to the main debate over AI spending and cash flow.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors were unnerved by Alphabet’s higher CapEx guidance and negative free cash flow, which raised concerns that AI spending may be outpacing near-term returns.
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet was also hit by an EU antitrust fine of about $1 billion, adding another regulatory overhang. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Moody’s warned that the industry-wide AI buildout could threaten credit quality at Alphabet and other hyperscalers, reinforcing concerns about balance-sheet strain from heavy infrastructure investment. Article Title

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.