Insider Selling: Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Director Sells 102 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Alphabet director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares on May 29 at an average price of $381, for total proceeds of $38,862. After the sale, she still held 18,721 shares, and the transaction reduced her position by just 0.54%.
• The company’s recent fundamentals remain strong: Alphabet reported Q1 EPS of $5.11, well above analyst expectations of $2.64, on revenue of $109.9 billion. It also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share from $0.21.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on GOOGL, with an average “Moderate Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $413.33. However, the stock has also faced mixed headlines, including concerns about heavier AI spending and possible EU cloud regulation pressure.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $381.00, for a total value of $38,862.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 18,721 shares in the company, valued at $7,132,701. The trade was a 0.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Frances Arnold also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, April 30th, Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of Alphabet stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $371.00, for a total value of $37,842.00.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOGL traded down $3.97 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $376.37. The company had a trading volume of 28,302,225 shares, compared to its average volume of 25,838,672. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.56 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.71, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $345.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $325.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $162.00 and a 52-week high of $408.61.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.64 by $2.47. The company had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.98 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%. On average, analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GOOGL. Foguth Wealth Management LLC. increased its position in Alphabet by 13.0% in the 1st quarter. Foguth Wealth Management LLC. now owns 5,293 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,522,000 after acquiring an additional 607 shares during the period. Financial Solutions Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $614,000. Dala Group LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $11,717,000. Krane Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $280,000. Finally, Lavelle Capital LP purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $6,777,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on GOOGL. Wolfe Research reduced their target price on Alphabet from $390.00 to $360.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 30th. China Renaissance increased their target price on Alphabet from $400.00 to $485.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $435.00 target price (up from $427.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Alphabet from $330.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $413.33.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway’s $10 billion commitment gives Alphabet a high-profile endorsement and suggests long-term confidence in the company’s AI and cloud strategy. Alphabet plans to raise $80 billion for AI goals, Berkshire to invest $10 billion
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s ownership stakes in major private AI companies like SpaceX and Anthropic could provide hidden upside if those firms eventually go public. Alphabet Stock Offers Exposure To SpaceX, Anthropic Before IPOs: What That Means For Investors
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage of Alphabet’s expanding AI coding, hardware, and consumer-device strategy underscores the company’s push to compete more aggressively, but it does not appear to be the immediate stock-moving catalyst today. Microsoft and Google are late to AI coding, but 'absolutely critical' they compete for growth
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet’s proposed $80 billion capital raise is raising dilution concerns and signaling much heavier near-term AI capex, which is pressuring the shares. Exclusive: EU cloud rules to curb Amazon, Google access to strategic tenders, draft document shows
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that EU cloud rules could restrict Google’s access to strategic government tenders add another regulatory overhang for the company’s cloud business. Alphabet to raise $80 billion in equity capital for AI spending

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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