Insider Selling: Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Director Sells $412,923.00 in Stock

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Director John Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $393.26, for a total value of $412,923.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $995,341.06. The trade was a 29.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $387.66 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $336.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $320.82. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $162.00 and a 12 month high of $408.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.70 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.57, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $2.47. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The business had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $106.98 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. This is a boost from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price target on Alphabet from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wolfe Research dropped their price target on Alphabet from $390.00 to $360.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price target on Alphabet and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Mizuho upped their price target on Alphabet from $420.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $412.65.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,534,239,000. Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased a new position in Alphabet in the third quarter worth approximately $4,338,397,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. grew its position in Alphabet by 855.3% in the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 14,525,280 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $4,546,413,000 after acquiring an additional 13,004,828 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Alphabet by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 528,969,322 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $165,567,398,000 after acquiring an additional 12,531,695 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors grew its position in Alphabet by 28.0% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 53,107,572 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $12,910,542,000 after acquiring an additional 11,605,785 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s Google I/O announcements reinforced the company’s AI monetization story, with new ad formats, shopping tools, and Gemini-based products that could lift search and commerce revenue. Alphabet’s new AI ad formats seen boosting conversions and spending
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts reiterated bullish or supportive views on Alphabet after I/O, including price-target increases that point to more upside if AI rollout gains traction. Analyst rating updates on Alphabet
• Positive Sentiment: Google’s broader AI push remains a tailwind for Alphabet, with articles highlighting strong cloud/AI demand and growing usage across Gemini and AI Overviews. 4 Cloud Computing Stocks Benefiting From AI-Driven Demand
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet continues to win favorable Wall Street coverage, including multiple buy ratings and raised targets, which can help support the stock near recent highs. Alphabet’s Googlebook Brings Gemini AI to PC Hardware
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s quarterly dividend increase and continued strong earnings remain supportive, but these were already known catalysts rather than a fresh surprise for traders. Alphabet stock performance and company details
• Neutral Sentiment: There was also a routine insider sale by a director, which may get attention but does not by itself change the company’s long-term outlook. SEC filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s new AI search experience has sparked debate about the future of web traffic and search behavior, but this is more of a strategic overhang than an immediate earnings issue. Google is going to ruin the internet
• Negative Sentiment: Waymo suspended freeway robotaxi rides and paused Atlanta operations while it fixes software problems in construction zones and flooded roads, raising short-term safety and execution concerns for Alphabet’s self-driving unit. Waymo suspends freeway rides, pauses Atlanta operations amid safety fixes
• Negative Sentiment: Additional reports said Waymo paused service in multiple cities after robotaxis struggled in heavy rain and construction zones, reinforcing concerns about rollout reliability. Waymo halts freeway rides after robotaxis struggle in construction zones
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and public-safety scrutiny is also building around Google’s platforms, including EU complaints over financial scams and UK child-safety criticism on YouTube. Google, Meta, TikTok face EU consumer complaints about handling of financial scams

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.