Moody National Bank Trust Division Sells 17,285 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Moody National Bank Trust Division cut its Alphabet stake by 38.1%, selling 17,285 shares and now holding 28,118 shares worth about $8.82 million, while insiders and institutions have also trimmed positions (insiders sold ~2,110,165 shares valued at $118.13 million in the last 90 days).
• Wall Street sentiment has turned more bullish with multiple upgrades (Raymond James, Scotiabank, Wells Fargo, Pivotal), a consensus rating of Buy and an average price target near $345.71, with some analysts targeting up to $420.
• Alphabet posted a quarterly beat (EPS $2.82 vs. $2.59 est.; revenue $113.83B vs. $111.24B), revenue rose ~18% year‑over‑year, and the company recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share ($0.84 annualized, ~0.3% yield).

Moody National Bank Trust Division cut its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 38.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,118 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 17,285 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for about 0.8% of Moody National Bank Trust Division's portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Moody National Bank Trust Division's holdings in Alphabet were worth $8,823,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of GOOG. Tradewinds LLC. grew its position in Alphabet by 2,134.8% in the third quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 45,098 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $10,984,000 after purchasing an additional 43,080 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 31.3% during the 3rd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 354,529 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $86,345,000 after buying an additional 84,553 shares during the last quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 221,391 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $53,920,000 after buying an additional 2,009 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank of Texas bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at about $900,000. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 157,143 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $38,272,000 after acquiring an additional 3,444 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on GOOG. Raymond James Financial upgraded Alphabet from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $315.00 to $400.00 in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $400.00 price target (up from $375.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Pivotal Research reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $420.00 price objective (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $345.71.

Alphabet Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $273.76 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $142.66 and a 52-week 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.31 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $312.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $295.00.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $113.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.24 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 35.01% and a net margin of 32.81%.The business's revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.15 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is deepening its AI infrastructure ties by backing a massive Texas data‑center project to be leased by Anthropic — a strategic move that secures capacity for large AI models and strengthens a key partner relationship. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street has been raising targets: Needham and other analysts have issued $400+/high‑3xx targets and firms like Wells Fargo raised theirs recently — supporting medium‑term upside narratives despite the pullback. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamentals remain strong: recent quarterly beats, accelerating Google Cloud backlog (~$240B reported), and rapid Gemini adoption underpin revenue visibility and long‑term growth expectations. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Google Research’s TurboQuant memory‑compression work has spooked memory suppliers but can be a net positive for Alphabet — lower AI infrastructure costs and greater model efficiency improve margins and competitive positioning. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Technically the stock is in a correction from its highs and some commentators frame the selloff as a buying opportunity; price action below key short‑term supports is increasing volatility but not yet changing the longer‑term bull case. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Legal risk intensified after a high‑profile jury found YouTube (Alphabet) liable in a social‑media addiction bellwether case — the direct damages are small but the ruling increases headline and litigation risk across many pending suits and could force product or regulatory changes that hit engagement/ads. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market and geopolitical pressures: a tech sector selloff (Nasdaq weakness, Iran war worries) and legal blows to peers like Meta have amplified outflows from large cap tech, pressuring GOOG along with the group. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Institutional/insider moves and high‑profile position trims (reported sales and some billionaire reductions) add selling pressure and headline risk in the near term. Read More.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.41, for a total value of $318,580.50. Following the sale, the director owned 4,631 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,405,091.71. This represents a 18.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the insider directly owned 13,227 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,987,279.15. This represents a 78.25% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 2,110,165 shares of company stock valued at $118,134,117 over the last 90 days. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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