Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) CEO Sells $10,439,325.00 in Stock

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $321.21, for a total value of $10,439,325.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,244,372 shares in the company, valued at $720,914,730.12. This trade represents a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Sundar Pichai also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, December 15th, Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.80, for a total value of $9,743,500.00.
• On Wednesday, December 3rd, Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.50, for a total value of $10,383,750.00.
• On Wednesday, November 19th, Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.64, for a total value of $9,640,800.00.
• On Wednesday, November 5th, Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.48, for a total transaction of $9,213,100.00.
• On Wednesday, October 15th, Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.15, for a total transaction of $8,129,875.00.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $329.29 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $306.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $250.04. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.66 and a 52 week high of $331.48. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $3.97 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.47, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.09.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The information services provider reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by $0.58. The firm had revenue of $102.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.90 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.23% and a return on equity of 35.00%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.12 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on GOOG. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Raymond James Financial set a $275.00 price target on shares of Alphabet and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $285.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Loop Capital raised shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Alphabet from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $318.18.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GOOG. RDA Financial Network increased its position in Alphabet by 5.3% during the second quarter. RDA Financial Network now owns 11,094 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,968,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 170,020 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $30,160,000 after buying an additional 2,304 shares during the period. American National Bank of Texas acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $900,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,164,341 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $206,542,000 after buying an additional 42,028 shares during the period. Finally, Oldfather Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet in the second quarter valued at approximately $213,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analyst upgrades and higher price targets boost upside expectations for GOOG, with Canaccord and others lifting targets well above prior levels — a direct catalyst for buying interest. Canaccord Raises PT to $390
• Positive Sentiment: AI product momentum: reports show Gemini gaining share versus ChatGPT and Gemini-powered features rolling into Gmail at scale — this supports stronger ad/search monetization and cloud expectations. Gemini Gains Market Share
• Positive Sentiment: Market-cap milestone: Alphabet briefly overtook Apple as the world’s No.2 public company — a sign of investor confidence that can attract index/ETF flows and reinforce momentum. Alphabet Surpasses Apple
• Neutral Sentiment: Wiz acquisition pending EU approval by Feb.10 — approval would remove a large M&A overhang; rejection would be a setback. Outcome is material but binary. EU to Decide on Wiz Deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Waymo branding/product updates signal long-term autonomy growth but limited near-term EPS impact; watch commercialization cadence. Waymo Rebrands Robotaxi
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/reputational pressure: three Democratic senators urged Apple and Google to suspend X and Grok from their app stores over sexualized images of minors created via AI — a headline that raises moderation/regulatory scrutiny for app stores and Google’s ecosystem. Senators Call to Suspend X and Grok
• Negative Sentiment: Legal exposure from AI products: Alphabet and Character.AI settled suits alleging AI chatbots harmed minors (including a teen suicide), underscoring potential costs, regulation and reputational risk. AI Lawsuit Settlements
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling and talent movement: CEO Sundar Pichai disclosed a multi-million-dollar share sale; separately, Nvidia hired a Google marketing veteran — both can weigh on near-term sentiment and raise questions about insider cashing and talent retention. Pichai Share Sale

About Alphabet

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.