Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Insider John Kent Walker Sells 17,829 Shares

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) insider John Kent Walker sold 17,829 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.89, for a total transaction of $5,614,173.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,531,453.08. The trade was a 29.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $313.85 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $298.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $241.56. The stock has a market cap of $3.79 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.95, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.75. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $140.53 and a fifty-two week high of $328.83.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by $0.58. The company 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 8th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 8th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 8.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on GOOGL. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, November 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $355.00 target price on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $265.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on Alphabet from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-one have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $315.90.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AI momentum: Analysts and commentators point to a renewed AI-led growth story (Gemini adoption, model upgrades) that strengthens search economics and monetization pathways. This narrative is driving investor enthusiasm. Google’s AI Renaissance (Growth Story is Far from Over)
• Positive Sentiment: Cloud strength and fundamentals: Google Cloud reported >30% growth in recent commentary and continues to accelerate, supporting revenue diversification beyond ads. Ranking the Best “Magnificent Seven” Stocks to Buy for 2026
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades / momentum: MarketBeat and others flagged Alphabet as one of the most-upgraded names with mean price-target upside (~20% at some bulls), which tends to draw flows and support the stock. The 5 Most Upgraded Stocks from 2025
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation / positioning narrative: Coverage notes Alphabet has outperformed peers in 2025 and is being re-priced as an AI/cloud play; some see recent dips as buying opportunities while others warn upside may be partially priced in. Alphabet Stock is Starting to Get Cheap Again After Dipping in December
• Neutral Sentiment: Infrastructure/energy considerations: Reports highlight Alphabet’s growing data‑center power needs and recent moves to secure renewable energy and projects—important operationally but longer‑dated for direct EPS impact. Google buys renewable energy project developer Intersect
• Negative Sentiment: High AI CapEx scrutiny: Several pieces warn hyperscaler spending on AI infrastructure is large and could pressure free cash flow and margins in the near term, a risk investors are watching. Buy Stock in the Mag 7 Hyperscalers or Are They Spending Too Much?
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/legal noise: Reports about DOJ probes and other policy scrutiny add an element of regulatory risk that can weigh on sentiment if escalated. Trump’s Justice Department probes Google

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GOOGL. Truist Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.3% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 2,546,012 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $448,684,000 after purchasing an additional 56,295 shares in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 17.9% during the 1st quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 88,187 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $13,637,000 after purchasing an additional 13,371 shares in the last quarter. Alaethes Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 1.1% during the first quarter. Alaethes Wealth LLC now owns 7,646 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,182,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Moment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. Moment Partners LLC now owns 5,896 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,039,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Welch Group LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 64,262 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $11,325,000 after purchasing an additional 2,467 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.