Frances Arnold Sells 112 Shares of Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.28, for a total value of $39,343.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 18,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,615,656.24. The trade was a 0.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

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

• On Friday, May 29th, Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of Alphabet stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $381.00, for a total value of $38,862.00.
• 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 Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $361.21 on Thursday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $172.77 and a 52-week high of $408.61. The stock has a market cap of $4.38 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.55, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a fifty day moving average of $370.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $333.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $2.47. The company had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $106.98 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th were given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. This is a positive change from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on GOOGL. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Daiwa Securities Group increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $380.00 to $445.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $410.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $413.90.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GOOGL. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. EMC Capital Management acquired a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. PMV Capital Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Bard Associates Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $52,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s addition to the Dow Jones Industrial Average is boosting visibility and may increase index-related demand for GOOGL. Alphabet debuts in Dow Jones Industrial Average as index tilts toward tech
• Positive Sentiment: Google’s Nano Banana 2 Lite launch could strengthen its AI product lineup by offering a faster, cheaper creation tool. Google introduces a faster, cheaper image generator with Nano Banana 2 Lite
• Positive Sentiment: Visa and Google signing onto OpenUSD expands Alphabet’s footprint in digital payments infrastructure. Visa and Google Sign on to Use Money Movement Stablecoin OpenUSD
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent insider stock sales by Alphabet directors and executives appear routine and are not large enough on their own to change the investment thesis. Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of Alphabet stock
• Negative Sentiment: A Swedish court ordered Google to pay damages in an antitrust case, reinforcing legal risk around its shopping and search practices. Swedish court orders Google pay $1.46 bn for favoring its price comparisons
• Negative Sentiment: UK regulators are moving against app-store fees and payment restrictions, which could pressure Google’s app platform economics. UK targets Apple, Google app store fees for developers

About Alphabet

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.