Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Sold by Webster Bank N. A.

Key Points

• Webster Bank N.A. reduced its Alphabet stake by 13.7% in Q4, selling 3,438 shares and leaving 21,691 shares worth about $6.81 million.
• Insider selling has picked up: John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares at about $275.89 on March 27, and insiders disposed of 2,037,294 shares (~$94.2 million) in the past 90 days; insiders now own 12.99% of the stock.
• Analysts remain bullish overall, with an average MarketBeat rating of "Buy," an average price target of $346.03, and several recent targets in the $360–$400 range.

Webster Bank N. A. lowered its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 13.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,691 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 3,438 shares during the period. Webster Bank N. A.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $6,807,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 8.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 99,529,742 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $24,240,469,000 after purchasing an additional 7,904,434 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 5.8% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 40,032,291 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $9,749,864,000 after purchasing an additional 2,209,203 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.7% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 32,583,332 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $7,935,671,000 after purchasing an additional 223,743 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.9% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 28,625,464 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $6,971,769,000 after purchasing an additional 539,679 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Alphabet by 3.6% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 21,531,348 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $5,243,960,000 after acquiring an additional 756,602 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on GOOG shares. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $365.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $360.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating and issued a $370.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. KeyCorp set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $400.00 price objective (up from $375.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $346.03.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total transaction of $2,481,078.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,293,309.12. This represents a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.99, for a total transaction of $33,934.88. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 18,418 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,580,469.82. This represents a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,037,294 shares of company stock valued at $94,216,897. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google embedded its Gemini AI features into Chrome for ~3.5 billion users, widening distribution of monetizable AI functionality and strengthening user engagement across the purchase journey. Google Embeds AI Into Chrome for 3.5 Billion Users
• Positive Sentiment: Vodafone will offer advanced cybersecurity and “agentic” AI services to small businesses via its strategic Google Cloud tie-up, expanding enterprise sales channels and recurring cloud revenue opportunities. Vodafone offers small businesses cybersecurity, AI capability with Google tie-up
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street bullishness ahead of Cloud Next: UBS and other analysts have raised price targets and called Alphabet a top pick, citing Google Cloud and AI momentum — a near-term positive for sentiment and positioning. UBS Raises Alphabet's Target to $375
• Positive Sentiment: Reports and coverage point to new inference-focused TPUs and Google’s push into custom AI silicon — if adopted at scale this could improve cloud margins and differentiate Google Cloud. Google to Release New AI Chips, Challenging Nvidia
• Neutral Sentiment: Talks that Google may work with Marvell on custom AI chips are circulating but disputed by some analysts; strategic supplier diversification would be positive long-term but details and timing remain unclear. Marvell falls back after reports on Google AI chip talks disputed by analysts
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet holds a large SpaceX stake that could unlock significant non-core value if SpaceX IPOs — a potential valuation tailwind but not an immediate revenue driver. Alphabet’s SpaceX Stake Puts Fresh Focus On Non Core Value
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Director John L. Hennessy disclosed a sale of 1,050 shares (mid-April); small on its own but contributes to near-term negative optics. Insider Selling: Alphabet Director Sells Shares
• Negative Sentiment: Large reported 13F moves (Cardano Risk Management shows a ~90% reduction in GOOG/GOOGL holdings per parsing) create selling noise — filings may contain parse errors but the headlines can pressure the stock. Fund Update: Cardano Risk Management B.V. Just Disclosed New Holdings
• Negative Sentiment: Some institutional trimming (e.g., Manitou reduced its Class A stake) adds incremental selling pressure though not large enough alone to change the long-term story. Manitou Investment Management Trims Alphabet Class A Stake

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $330.47 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $306.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $303.52. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $149.49 and a one year high of $350.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 2.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.00 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.57, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.13.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analysts' expectations of $111.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.15 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 11.53 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th were issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.77%.

About Alphabet

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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