Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Sold by BNP Paribas

Key Points

• BNP Paribas reduced its stake in Alphabet by 5.2%, selling 22,700 shares to hold 410,493 shares worth about $99.9M, which represents roughly 3.0% of its portfolio and is its 7th-largest holding.
• Significant insider selling occurred recently — John Kent Walker sold 47,574 shares (~$14.34M) and insiders disposed of 2,112,493 shares (~$118.6M) in the last quarter, leaving insiders owning 12.99% of the stock.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish with a consensus "Buy" rating and an average price target of $345.71, as several firms raised targets (up to $395), supported by catalysts like the $32B Wiz acquisition, Gemini AI integrations, and strong Q4 results.

BNP Paribas lowered its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 5.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 410,493 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 22,700 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up about 3.0% of BNP Paribas' investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. BNP Paribas' holdings in Alphabet were worth $99,917,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Imprint Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. University of Illinois Foundation bought a new position in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 145.0% during the third quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 196 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on GOOG. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $370.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $330.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Alphabet from $385.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $345.71.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: GFiber is combining with Astound Broadband with Stonepeak as majority owner while Alphabet keeps a minority stake — this monetizes Google’s fiber asset, reduces future capex burden and leaves Alphabet with upside exposure to a larger independent broadband operator. Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL)’s Expanding Horizons: AI, Cloud, and Broadband Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Gemini AI is being added to Google Maps via “Ask Maps,” increasing product differentiation and engagement across a high-traffic app — a direct example of AI driving user value and monetization opportunities. Google (GOOGL) Adds Its Gemini AI Model to Google Maps to Allow More Detailed Questions
• Positive Sentiment: Google completed the acquisition of Wiz (~$32B), strengthening cloud security offerings — a strategic tuck-in that can help win larger enterprise cloud deals and justify higher cloud multiple over time. Google Just Closed Its $32 Billion Wiz Deal. How Should You Play GOOGL Stock Here?
• Positive Sentiment: Google changed Android billing rules, cut developer fees and resolved the Epic/Fortnite dispute — removing a legal overhang and improving developer economics for Play Store, which supports long-term app revenue resilience. Google (GOOGL) App Store Brings Back Fortnite, Changes Fee Structure
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamentals and analyst sentiment remain supportive — recent coverage highlights strong Q4 results, cash-rich balance sheet and a consensus “Buy” tilt with several elevated price targets. This underpins medium-term investor confidence. Alphabet Q4: A Fairly Valued Tech Titan To Buy Now
• Neutral Sentiment: Social and options flow show heightened bullish conviction around Gemini and cloud, but this is sentiment-driven and can amplify short-term volatility rather than change fundamentals. Alphabet Stock (GOOG) Opinions on Gemini AI Advancements
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent short-interest data in feeds appears noisy/invalid and does not signal a meaningful squeeze or covering dynamic at present.
• Negative Sentiment: U.K. regulator warnings on protecting children online increase the risk of tighter rules and compliance costs for big tech — a regulatory backdrop that could pressure valuations if enforcement or new rules accelerate. Big tech given warning - and deadline - by UK regulator

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 47,574 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.45, for a total transaction of $14,341,182.30. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 13,227 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,987,279.15. This trade represents a 78.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.73, for a total value of $184,038.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,624 shares in the company, valued at $6,325,999.52. This represents a 2.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 2,112,493 shares of company stock valued at $118,605,094 in the last quarter. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.6%

Alphabet stock opened at $301.46 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $319.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $290.32. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $142.66 and a fifty-two week high of $350.15. The firm has a market cap of $3.65 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 2.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.23. Alphabet had a return on equity of 35.01% and a net margin of 32.81%.The firm had revenue of $113.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.15 EPS. The company's revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.77%.

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.

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