Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Insider Sells 8,998 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Alphabet insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares on June 29 at an average price of $349.29, totaling about $3.14 million. After the sale, he still owned 75,290 shares, and the transaction reduced his stake by 10.68%.
• GOOGL shares were up modestly to $361.21 in Wednesday trading, with Alphabet carrying a market cap of $4.38 trillion. The stock remains near the upper end of its yearly range, though still below its 50-day moving average.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish on Alphabet, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $413.90. Recent quarterly results also beat expectations, highlighting strong earnings and revenue growth.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total value of $3,142,911.42. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 75,290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,298,044.10. The trade was a 10.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOGL traded up $3.84 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $361.21. The stock had a trading volume of 26,678,517 shares, compared to its average volume of 32,969,117. The stock has a market cap of $4.38 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.23. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $172.77 and a 1 year high of $408.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $369.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $333.53.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The company had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $106.98 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th were given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. This is a boost from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.71%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 110,330 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $20,886,000 after purchasing an additional 4,110 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 14,930 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,826,000 after buying an additional 506 shares during the period. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 17.6% during the second quarter. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY now owns 3,888 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $685,000 after acquiring an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 485,486 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $85,557,000 after purchasing an additional 48,805 shares during the period. Finally, United Bank boosted its position in Alphabet by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 48,204 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $8,495,000 after acquiring an additional 3,120 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial set a $430.00 price target on Alphabet and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Wolfe Research lowered their target price on shares of Alphabet from $390.00 to $360.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $395.00 to $465.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Alphabet from $370.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $413.90.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s inclusion in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and reports of bullish analyst targets have reinforced the view that the stock remains a large-cap AI and growth leader. Alphabet Replaces Verizon In Dow Jones As Analyst Boosts Target To $415
• Positive Sentiment: Google launched Nano Banana 2 Lite, a faster and cheaper image generator, which could strengthen its competitive position in generative AI and support future monetization. Google introduces a faster, cheaper image generator with Nano Banana 2 Lite
• Positive Sentiment: Visa and Google signing on to OpenUSD suggests Alphabet is expanding its presence in digital payments and emerging commerce infrastructure. Visa and Google Sign on to Use Money Movement Stablecoin OpenUSD
• Positive Sentiment: Several market-watch articles continue to frame Alphabet as a strong long-term AI growth stock with additional upside potential from earnings and valuation support. Will Alphabet (GOOGL) Beat Estimates Again in Its Next Earnings Report?
• Neutral Sentiment: A small insider sale by a director was disclosed, but the transaction was modest and does not appear to signal a meaningful change in fundamentals. Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of Alphabet stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s recent pullback has also attracted “buy the dip” commentary, with some analysts arguing the stock still has room to run if AI and cloud growth stay on track. Why Alphabet's pullback may be an opportunity in disguise
• Negative Sentiment: A Swedish court ordered Alphabet to pay PriceRunner/Klarna roughly $1.5 billion to nearly $2 billion in an antitrust case, adding to regulatory overhang tied to Google’s shopping-search practices. Google Must Pay Nearly $2 Billion to Klarna in Antitrust Case
• Negative Sentiment: UK regulators are also targeting Apple and Google app-store fees and payment restrictions, which could pressure Alphabet’s platform economics if rules become stricter. UK targets Apple, Google app store fees for developers
• Negative Sentiment: South Korean regulators alleged Google abused its dominance in Android app distribution, another sign that antitrust risk remains a key investor concern. South Korean trade watchdog alleges Google abused its position in Android app store

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.