Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Given Consensus Rating of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) have received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the forty-two analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and eight have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $326.1333.

Several research firms have issued reports on GOOG. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 price objective (up from $336.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Mizuho set a $325.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Pivotal Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price target (up from $350.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Phillip Securities raised shares of Alphabet from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $285.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Major analyst upgrade and higher price targets highlight AI-driven upside — Raymond James raised GOOG to “Strong Buy” and boosted its price target (street chatter also shows multiple firms lifting targets), supporting investor confidence in Alphabet’s AI strategy and Google Cloud momentum. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Big investors adding shares — Baillie Gifford disclosed adding ~1.19M GOOGL shares in the latest 13F filing, a sign of continued institutional accumulation that can underpin price support. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Strong AI ecosystem wins — Apple reportedly will use Google’s Gemini to power the next Siri, expanding Gemini’s distribution and reinforcing Alphabet’s AI moat and monetization pathways. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst and media coverage remains focused on AI and technicals — Several outlets and analysts are publishing bullish previews and technical trading ideas (including MarketBeat, Zacks, TipRanks), which keeps interest high but doesn’t guarantee near-term moves. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Waymo expansion vs. scrutiny — Waymo launched robotaxis in Miami (expansion signal), which can drive future growth for Alphabet’s autonomy segment but also raises operational/legal exposure as deployment scales. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: NTSB opens probe into Waymo after robotaxis passed stopped school buses — A federal safety investigation into repeated illegal passes in Austin (reported incidents across states) creates regulatory and reputational risk for Waymo and, by extension, Alphabet. That headline is the clearest near-term negative catalyst. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Antitrust litigation risk persists — A federal judge allowed a consumer antitrust lawsuit over Google Search to proceed, keeping legal exposure and potential remedies on the radar for investors assessing longer-term regulatory risk. Article Title

Alphabet Stock Down 0.7%

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $328.55 on Wednesday. Alphabet has a 1-year low of $142.66 and a 1-year high of $341.20. The company has a market capitalization of $3.96 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.40, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $316.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $261.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The information services provider reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by $0.58. The business had revenue of $102.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.90 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 35.00% and a net margin of 32.23%.Alphabet’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.12 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Alphabet will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 8th were given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 8th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 8.28%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,829 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.89, for a total value of $5,614,173.81. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 42,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,531,453.08. This trade represents a 29.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,778 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.30, for a total value of $867,569.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,798,832.60. This represents a 23.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 225,187 shares of company stock valued at $69,365,318. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GOOG. Bingham Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $336,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 31.4% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 210,378 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $66,017,000 after buying an additional 50,317 shares during the last quarter. G2 Capital Management LLC OH increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. G2 Capital Management LLC OH now owns 16,578 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,202,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Cura Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 21.6% during the fourth quarter. Cura Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,790 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $562,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BSW Wealth Partners lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 29,343 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $9,208,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.