Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Trading 2.2% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) were up 2.2% on Tuesday after Phillip Securities upgraded the stock from a moderate buy rating to a strong-buy rating. The stock traded as high as $335.88 and last traded at $333.71. 28,868,400 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 11% from the average session volume of 32,416,027 shares. The stock had previously closed at $326.56.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $420.00 price target (down from $435.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $400.00 to $379.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $419.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total value of $3,142,911.42. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 75,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,298,044.10. The trade was a 10.68% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 285,049 shares of company stock valued at $10,051,351 in the last ninety days. 11.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street support strengthened after Phillip Securities upgraded Alphabet to “strong buy,” while KeyCorp raised its FY2028 earnings estimate to $17.88 per share and maintained an “Overweight” rating with a $445 price target. Zacks
• Positive Sentiment: Several investors and prominent value managers disclosed larger Alphabet positions, reinforcing the view that the stock’s valuation and recent correction offer an attractive entry point. Alphabet Investor Positions
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s latest results showed an earnings and revenue beat, accelerating Google Cloud growth, and continued Search demand. Analysts argue that early AI monetization may help offset concerns about elevated investment. Alphabet Q2 Earnings Analysis
• Positive Sentiment: YouTube reached a multiyear agreement with NBCUniversal to add Peacock content for U.S. YouTube Premium subscribers, potentially improving the platform’s content offering and subscriber value. YouTube and Peacock Agreement

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 6.0% during the first quarter. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 477 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $137,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Rockbridge Investment Management LCC raised its stake in Alphabet by 0.5% in the first quarter. Rockbridge Investment Management LCC now owns 5,460 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,570,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Ruggaard & Associates LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 0.9% in the first quarter. Ruggaard & Associates LLC now owns 2,921 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $840,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Cadia Private Client LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 1.1% in the first quarter. Cadia Private Client LLC now owns 2,589 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $744,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Finally, Evansbrook LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.3% in the first quarter. Evansbrook LLC now owns 9,522 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,738,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 2.64. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $361.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $338.98. The company has a market capitalization of $4.04 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.76, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.24.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $6.22. Alphabet had a return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 54.77%.The business had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.07 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 17.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 7th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 4.42%.

Alphabet Company Profile

Alphabet Inc is the holding company created in 2015 to organize Google and a portfolio of businesses developing technologies beyond Google’s core internet services. Its principal operations are led by Google, which builds and operates consumer-facing products such as Google Search, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Gmail, Google Maps and Google Workspace, as well as advertising platforms (Google Ads and AdSense) that historically generate the majority of its revenue. Google also develops consumer hardware (Pixel phones, Nest smart-home devices, Chromecast) and developer and distribution platforms such as Google Play.

Beyond Google’s consumer and advertising businesses, Alphabet invests in enterprise and infrastructure offerings through Google Cloud, which provides cloud computing, data analytics and productivity services to businesses and institutions.