Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Director Frances Arnold Sells 82 Shares

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Director Frances Arnold sold 82 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.71, for a total value of $27,692.22. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 18,995 shares in the company, valued at $6,414,801.45. This trade represents a 0.43% decrease in their position. The transaction 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, July 30th, Frances Arnold sold 82 shares of Alphabet stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.39, for a total value of $27,337.98.
• On Tuesday, June 30th, Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of Alphabet stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.28, for a total transaction of $39,343.36.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $335.41 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 2.64. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $206.96 and a one year high of $404.47. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $347.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $340.20. The stock has a market cap of $4.10 trillion, a P/E ratio of 16.85, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.23.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $6.24. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. The company had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $116.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.31 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Investors of record on Monday, September 7th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4.42%.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Readystate Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at $45,352,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Alphabet by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 421,013,782 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $132,114,125,000 after purchasing an additional 8,128,234 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in Alphabet by 1.4% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 369,922,502 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $130,704,718,000 after purchasing an additional 5,164,200 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 187,102,863 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $58,712,878,000 after purchasing an additional 953,790 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 38,409.2% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 179,836,276 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,643,262,000 after buying an additional 179,369,280 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on GOOG. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $475.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $475.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Alphabet from $418.00 to $411.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. DZ Bank upgraded Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson cut their target price on Alphabet from $375.00 to $350.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $415.55.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive on Alphabet’s outlook. Citizens analyst Andrew Boone expects the stock to reach a new all-time high over the next year, while recent GOOG targets have a median of $455, well above recent trading levels. Wall Street analyst sets Google price target
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s record cloud growth, Gemini development and expanding AI infrastructure continue to support the bullish case. Investors are debating whether the company’s large AI spending program will produce durable growth, but some analysts view the recent pullback as an opportunity. One Mag 7 stock to watch
• Positive Sentiment: Meta- and Google-backed Jio Platforms received regulatory approval for an Indian IPO, potentially creating value for Alphabet’s investment and increasing visibility into one of its strategic holdings. Jio Platforms receives IPO approval
• Neutral Sentiment: Director Frances Arnold sold 82 shares for approximately $27,700, reducing her position by only 0.43%. The small transaction is unlikely to materially change Alphabet’s investment outlook, though broader insider activity has consisted entirely of sales during the past six months. Alphabet SEC insider filing
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are increasingly concerned that Meta’s AI-powered advertising products could challenge Google Search’s advertising dominance. OpenAI’s reported $1 billion advertising run rate adds to fears that competition for digital-ad budgets is intensifying. Bernstein warns on Meta competition
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory pressure remains a major overhang. Google avoided a potential European penalty by changing search rules, while a £260 million U.K. app-store settlement adds another direct cost and highlights continuing scrutiny of its business practices. Google changes European search rules
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet’s aggressive AI capital expenditures are raising concerns about free-cash-flow pressure and future margins, particularly as investors compare its spending strategy with Amazon’s. Alphabet and Amazon AI capital spending
• Negative Sentiment: Google Maps’ decision to display “Lake America” for U.S. users has triggered backlash in Canada, creating reputational and political risk, although the immediate financial impact appears limited. Google Maps Lake America controversy

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.