Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Trading Down 2.3% on Insider Selling

Key Points

• Alphabet shares fell 2.3% in Tuesday trading after insider selling was disclosed, with the stock dropping from a prior close of $396.94 to around $387.66.
• A major shareholder sold more than 147,000 shares in two transactions filed with the SEC, but the article notes the selling appears routine rather than a major red flag.
• Despite the pullback, analyst sentiment remains positive: Alphabet has a Moderate Buy consensus rating and an average price target of $411.23, supported by several recent target increases.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 2.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $386.11 and last traded at $387.66. 38,021,568 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 20% from the average session volume of 31,736,723 shares. The stock had previously closed at $396.94.

Specifically, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total transaction of $2,077,531.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 60,077 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.01, for a total transaction of $1,382,371.77. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $405.00 target price (up from $360.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Alphabet from $397.00 to $361.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $410.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, CICC Research lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $388.00 to $407.91 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $411.23.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet and Blackstone announced a new AI cloud joint venture built around Google’s TPUs, a sign that Google may be expanding the market for its custom chips and strengthening its AI infrastructure business. Google, Blackstone to create new AI cloud company, WSJ reports
• Positive Sentiment: At Google I/O, Alphabet unveiled a broad set of AI upgrades across Search, Gemini, and agentic tools, reinforcing the view that it is monetizing AI across its core products and keeping pace with OpenAI and Anthropic. Google debuts new AI models, personal AI agents in effort to keep pace with OpenAI and Anthropic
• Positive Sentiment: Google also announced AI-powered smart glasses with Warby Parker and Gentle Monster, extending its AI push into wearable hardware and creating another possible growth avenue. Google takes a page out of Meta's book, announces new audio-powered smart glasses
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet lowered the price of its top-tier AI plan while expanding access to more powerful Gemini features, which could help accelerate adoption and broader usage. Google Drops Price of Its Highest-Tier AI Plan as Gemini Gets More Powerful
• Neutral Sentiment: Google said Gemini 3.5 Pro will arrive next month, which disappointed some conference attendees, but the delayed launch does not change the broader AI product roadmap. Google isn't releasing its next big AI model yet, drawing groans at its I/O conference
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider selling by a major shareholder was disclosed in SEC filings, but the sales appear routine and are less important than the bigger AI and cloud catalysts. SEC filing

Alphabet Stock Down 2.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92. The stock has a market cap of $4.70 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.26. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $331.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $318.52.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.64 by $2.47. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.98 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet's payout ratio is presently 6.41%.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. EMC Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. PMV Capital Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Bard Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,000. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

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.

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