Parthenon LLC Sells 1,529 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Parthenon LLC trimmed its Alphabet stake by 1.0%, selling 1,529 shares and now holding 159,113 shares (about 5.4% of its portfolio) valued at roughly $49.8 million.
• Insider selling has been notable recently—directors Frances Arnold and John L. Hennessy sold shares, and insiders sold 2,037,294 shares worth $94.2 million in the last 90 days, representing 11.64% insider ownership.
• Analysts and fundamentals: brokers have bumped price targets and reiterated bullish views amid Alphabet’s Q1 beat (EPS $2.82 vs. $2.57, revenue $113.8B) and strong Cloud/AI momentum (new TPUs, Gemini Enterprise, Merck partnership), producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” and $369.67 target.

Parthenon LLC reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 159,113 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 1,529 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up approximately 5.4% of Parthenon LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Parthenon LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $49,802,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. PMV Capital Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Kentucky Trust Co grew its position in Alphabet by 142.9% in the fourth quarter. Kentucky Trust Co now owns 170 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the third quarter worth $53,000. Finally, Corsicana & Co. purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the third quarter valued at $54,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.99, for a total value of $33,934.88. Following the sale, the director directly owned 18,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,580,469.82. This trade represents a 0.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.65, for a total transaction of $348,232.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,581 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,187,638.65. This trade represents a 22.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,037,294 shares of company stock worth $94,216,897. Corporate insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GOOGL. Dbs Bank raised their price objective on Alphabet from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $375.00 price target (up from $348.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $395.00 price target (up from $365.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned 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 $369.67.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOGL opened at $338.89 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $147.84 and a 1 year high of $349.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.10 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.35, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.12. 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 50-day simple moving average of $308.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $303.92.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $113.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.24 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.81% and a return on equity of 35.01%. On average, analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 11.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th were given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.77%.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google unveiled two eighth‑generation TPUs (separate chips for training and inference), a move that could lower AI infrastructure costs and help Google Cloud compete with Nvidia. This product push underpins revenue and margin upside in cloud/AI services. Google Cloud launches two new AI chips to compete with Nvidia
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet amplified its enterprise AI strategy at Cloud Next — launching the Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform and a $750M partner fund to accelerate agentic AI adoption. That accelerates monetization paths for AI in Google Cloud. Google makes an interesting choice with its new agent building tool for enterprises
• Positive Sentiment: Large commercial deals are following: Merck committed up to $1B to use Google Cloud and Gemini Enterprise, validating enterprise demand and multiyear revenue potential for cloud AI services. Merck to partner with Google Cloud on AI initiatives
• Positive Sentiment: Several sell‑side firms raised targets or reiterated bullish views (BMO to $410, UBS up to $375, Cantor to $395, KeyCorp to $380; JPMorgan and BofA reiterated Buy), signaling analyst confidence in Cloud + AI-driven growth ahead of Q1 results. BMO Raises Alphabet’s Target to $410 and Calls It “the Best Way to Own AI”
• Neutral Sentiment: Google is rolling consumer and workplace AI features (Wallet travel updates, Workspace automation, Chrome “auto browse”) that expand product engagement but are longer‑term monetization plays. Google updates Workspace to make AI your new office intern
• Neutral Sentiment: Independent bullish commentary (e.g., investor columns and pundit targets like Jim Cramer) support investor conviction but are opinion‑driven rather than new fundamentals. Jim Cramer sets Google stock price target
• Negative Sentiment: EU regulators are pressuring Google to give rival AI assistants access to Android features — a potential regulatory move that could weaken Android‑centric advantages and complicate Google’s ad/assistant ecosystem. Google Faces New EU Pressure to Give AI Rivals Android Access
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider selling was reported, which briefly pressured shares; while not necessarily indicative of fundamentals, it can spook short‑term sentiment ahead of earnings. Alphabet Inc. NASDAQ: GOOGL Shares Down 1.2% Following Insider Selling

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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