Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Seaport Res Ptn

Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning, Zacks.com reports. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Alphabet’s Q4 2024 earnings at $2.13 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $8.02 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $2.02 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $2.12 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.23 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $2.36 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $8.73 EPS.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on GOOGL. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $210.00 price objective (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $181.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $217.00 price objective (up from $215.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $208.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.51.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $174.46 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.16 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.04. Alphabet has a 1-year low of $122.68 and a 1-year high of $191.75. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $162.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $168.78. The company has a current ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.85 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 26.70% and a return on equity of 30.49%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.55 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Alphabet will post 7.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.30, for a total value of $3,741,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,106,806 shares in the company, valued at $350,361,837.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.00, for a total transaction of $114,576.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 31,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,264,112. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.30, for a total transaction of $3,741,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,106,806 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $350,361,837.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 220,426 shares of company stock worth $35,993,340. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of GOOGL. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 75.0% during the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 140 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Tributary Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the second quarter worth $36,000. Denver PWM LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 59.2% during the first quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 293 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc offers various products and platforms in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia-Pacific, Canada, and Latin America. It operates through Google Services, Google Cloud, and Other Bets segments. The Google Services segment provides products and services, including ads, Android, Chrome, devices, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Photos, Google Play, Search, and YouTube.