Not every Big Tech firm pays dividends, but Google and YouTube parent company Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG, NASDAQ:GOOGL) does. However, that’s not the only reason to invest in Alphabet. The company is also a revenue grower and an earnings beater, so Alphabet stock absolutely deserves an “A” grade.
Even without the dividend payouts, Alphabet offers excellent value to the company’s shareholders. $200 is a very reasonable share-price target, so conduct your due diligence on Alphabet and you’ll surely agree that this is a great tech firm for your watch list.
Alphabet Layoffs: Not a Deal Breaker
Maybe you’ve heard about the Big Tech layoffs of the past couple of years. Layoffs aren’t necessarily a sign that a company is in trouble.
Alphabet-owned Google offers a perfect example of this. According to CNBC (via GlobalData), Google laid off approximately 200 employees, including some workers on the company’s Python and Flutter developer teams.
This is unfortunate for the affected employees, no doubt. However, the roles themselves aren’t disappearing; they’re only being relocated. Some jobs are being moved to India or Mexico as Google seeks to be closer to its partners.
Hence, there’s no need for investors to worry. As Asim Husain, Google’s vice president of its Developer Ecosystem, explained, Google intends to maintain its “current global footprint while also expanding in high-growth global workforce locations so that we can operate closer to our partners and developer communities.”
Alphabet’s Dividend and Buybacks
There’s no doubt that Alphabet is in growth mode. Have you seen the company’s first-quarter 2024 results? Impressively, Alphabet grew its revenue 15% year over year to $80.5 billion, beating Wall Street’s consensus estimate of $78.7 billion.
Furthermore, Alphabet reported Q1-2024 earnings of $1.89 per share, easily beating the analysts’ consensus forecast of $1.51 per share. Yet, there’s more to the story than Alphabet’s Street-beating results.
Here’s some great news for passive-income investors. Alphabet announced that the company will pay its first-ever quarterly dividend, which will be 20 cents per share. Alphabet will expand its stock-buyback program by $70 billion.
Clearly, Alphabet knows how to show respect to its shareholders. Granted, the 20-cent dividend probably won’t make you fabulously wealthy overnight, but it’s a nice bonus for Alphabet’s loyal investors.
Alphabet Stock: $200 Is Within Reach
Are Google’s layoffs a bad sign for Alphabet? Not really, since Google is only moving some roles as part of a plan to be closer to the company’s partners. Besides, Alphabet delivered excellent quarterly results, is buying back its own shares and now offers quarterly dividend distributions.
We just gave you a slew of reasons to consider a buy-and-hold position in Alphabet stock, which definitely deserves an “A” grade. We’re setting our sights on a $200 price target — and after that, we can readjust our outlook for higher price points.
On the date of publication, neither Louis Navellier nor the InvestorPlace Research Staff member primarily responsible for this article held (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.