Insider Selling: Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Director Sells $184,914.00 in Stock

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Director John Hennessy sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.19, for a total value of $184,914.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,206,872.04. This represents a 13.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOGL opened at $307.16 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.71 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $289.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $233.80. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $140.53 and a 52-week high of $328.83.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.29 by $0.58. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.23% and a return on equity of 35.00%. The company had revenue of $102.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.90 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 8th were given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on GOOGL shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Alphabet from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Alphabet from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. BNP Paribas started coverage on Alphabet in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $355.00 target price on the stock. New Street Research increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $275.00 to $295.00 in a report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $280.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-one have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $315.90.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud locked an expanded, multibillion-dollar strategic deal with Palo Alto Networks — reported by Reuters as “approaching $10 billion” — which materially strengthens Cloud revenue outlook and security services momentum. Google Cloud lands deal with Palo Alto Networks
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup raised its price target to $350 and kept a Buy rating — a notable analyst upgrade that signals upward earnings/valuation expectations and supports short‑term buying interest. Citigroup adjusts price target on Alphabet
• Positive Sentiment: Google reports strong talent flows in AI — ~20% of 2025 AI software engineer hires were “boomerangs” (ex‑employees) — which investors view as a competitive advantage in the AI arms race vs. OpenAI/Anthropic/Meta. Google’s boomerang year
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical/trading signals flagged a Power Inflow alert (benzinga), which can attract short‑term momentum traders but is not a fundamental catalyst. GOOG Hits Intraday High After Key Trading Signal
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage and thematic stories (Zacks, cloud lists, MarketBeat pieces) are keeping retail/institutional attention on GOOGL as a core cloud and AI holding — supporting flows but not an immediate earnings surprise. Alphabet is a trending stock (Zacks)
• Negative Sentiment: A Spanish consumer group has launched preliminary legal action alleging sensitive data collection and privacy violations — an escalation that could lead to fines or longer-term compliance costs. Spanish consumer group seeks to sue Google in data row
• Negative Sentiment: Mexico’s antitrust authority ordered Google to drop certain Android restrictions — another regulatory action that can pressure mobile‑related revenue/margins and raises the risk of further regional remedies. Mexico’s antitrust commission resolves Android case
• Negative Sentiment: Large insider stock sales were disclosed this week (CEO Sundar Pichai and other executives/directors sold shares), which can be viewed negatively by some investors even if sales are routine or for diversification/tax reasons. SEC filing: Sundar Pichai insider sale

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Delta Asset Management LLC TN boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Delta Asset Management LLC TN now owns 6,153 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,496,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Second Line Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.8% in the third quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 4,417 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,074,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Matisse Capital raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Matisse Capital now owns 14,814 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,601,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Rialto Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,226 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $541,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hodges Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Alphabet by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,963 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,693,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

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.