Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Insider John Kent Walker Sells 47,574 Shares

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) insider John Kent Walker sold 47,574 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.45, for a total value of $14,341,182.30. Following the transaction, the insider owned 13,227 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,987,279.15. This trade represents a 78.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

John Kent Walker also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, December 30th, John Kent Walker sold 17,829 shares of Alphabet stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.89, for a total transaction of $5,614,173.81.

Alphabet Stock Up 3.2%

Shares of GOOG traded up $9.82 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $313.38. 5,983,626 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 22,559,145. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $320.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $278.09. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.66 and a 52 week high of $350.15. The company has a market cap of $3.79 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.86, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.10.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.23. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.81% and a return on equity of 35.01%. The business had revenue of $113.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.15 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.77%.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. University of Illinois Foundation purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter valued at $31,000. Imprint Wealth LLC bought a new position in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Horrell Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Alphabet by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 200 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LGT Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the second quarter valued at about $37,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on GOOG. KeyCorp set a $370.00 price objective on Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $365.00 price target (up previously from $355.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $280.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $370.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $343.90.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Canaccord Genuity lifted its price target after stronger‑than‑expected Q4 and faster Gemini adoption, signaling analyst confidence that AI monetization will lift revenue and margins. Canaccord raises PT
• Positive Sentiment: Big commercial wins and commitments: Alphabet announced a $15B America‑India Connect AI/fiber initiative and has new partnerships (Zillow integration with NotebookLM, a tie‑up with Sea) that extend Gemini/Cloud into vertical offerings — good for long‑term cloud & AI revenue. America-India Connect
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional buying from notable managers (Appaloosa/Tepper, Altimeter, Viking and others) signals conviction among some large investors that Alphabet is a core AI winner. That buying can support the stock around earnings and execution milestones. Appaloosa boosts stake
• Neutral Sentiment: Gemini consumer demos — e.g., an AI “cricket coach” showcased on CNBC — are positive PR for user engagement but are not immediate revenue drivers; they show product momentum more than financials. CNBC Gemini demo
• Neutral Sentiment: Product cadence: Google launched the $499 Pixel 10a with new AI features — supports consumer distribution of AI but low‑end device upgrades are incremental for overall revenue. Pixel 10a launch
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Alphabet senior exec John Kent Walker disclosed a large sale (~47,574 shares at ~$301.45), which markets often interpret as modestly negative near‑term signal. Insider sale filing
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple funds trimmed Alphabet stakes (including Pershing Square, Longview and others) per recent filings — increased selling from institutions can weigh on intraday liquidity and sentiment. Pershing Square trim
• Negative Sentiment: Security/legal risk: Three engineers were charged with allegedly stealing Google trade secrets and sending data to Iran — a reputational and IP risk that could trigger regulatory scrutiny or operational distractions. Trade-secrets indictment
• Negative Sentiment: Execution risk from supply constraints: Google DeepMind’s CEO warned that a memory‑chip shortage is constraining agentic AI research/deployment — could slow rollout cadence or raise costs in the near term. DeepMind supply comment

Alphabet Company Profile

Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) is a multinational technology holding company headquartered in Mountain View, California. Formed in 2015 through a corporate restructuring of Google, Alphabet serves as the parent to Google LLC and a portfolio of businesses collectively known as “Other Bets.” Google was originally founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin; Alphabet is led by CEO Sundar Pichai, who oversees Google and the broader company while the founders remain prominent shareholders and influential figures in the company’s history.

Alphabet’s core business centers on internet search and advertising, with Google Search and the company’s ad platforms (including Google Ads and AdSense) generating the majority of revenue by connecting advertisers with consumers worldwide.