Moody National Bank Trust Division Sells 17,101 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Moody National Bank Trust Division cut its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 25.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 50,511 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 17,101 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up about 1.5% of Moody National Bank Trust Division’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Moody National Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $15,810,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $21,944,208,000. Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth $4,338,397,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 17,667.7% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 15,245,075 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,686,640,000 after purchasing an additional 15,159,273 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 28.0% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 53,107,572 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $12,910,542,000 after purchasing an additional 11,605,785 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 51.7% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 31,817,684 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,607,232,000 after purchasing an additional 10,843,853 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and price-target raises reinforce bullish medium-term views — Wells Fargo raised its price target and kept an Overweight rating, and Needham reaffirmed its Buy with a $400 target; MarketBeat and other outlets note heavy analyst upgrading of GOOGL. These moves support upside expectations despite short-term weakness. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s AI innovation (TurboQuant / Gemini traction) is being framed as a competitive advantage — the company’s new compression research and Gemini adoption could lower AI operating costs and drive product differentiation, strengthening long-term revenue prospects. This is part of why some analysts lifted estimates and price targets. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamentals remain solid: recent earnings beat, robust cloud growth and advertising resilience provide a valuation anchor and a reason many institutions view pullbacks as buying opportunities. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical correction — the stock has moved below $300 and broken key short-term support, which can amplify volatility even if the longer-term trend stays intact; investors should watch $280–$260 support zones. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Executive departure in India: Google’s top India counsel resigned amid ongoing regulatory challenges in a key market, a factor to monitor for regional regulatory execution but not an immediate earnings driver. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Landmark jury verdicts finding YouTube/Google liable in social-media addiction cases have created legal overhang and the possibility of broader litigation or regulatory exposure — courts and commentators compare potential fallout to past “Big Tobacco”-style settlements, increasing perceived legal risk for Alphabet. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: New lawsuits allege Google’s search/AI features disclosed personal information of Jeffrey Epstein victims; such privacy/AI-related claims add another legal/regulatory headline that can pressure sentiment and increase potential litigation costs or product changes. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Broader tech selloff — geopolitical war worries and landmark Meta legal losses have sparked rotation out of large-cap tech this week, amplifying Alphabet’s decline despite company-specific strengths. Market risk sentiment is a near-term headwind. Read More.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.99, for a total value of $33,934.88. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 18,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,580,469.82. This trade represents a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.89, for a total transaction of $10,006,425.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,642,060 shares in the company, valued at $505,573,853.40. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 2,110,165 shares of company stock valued at $118,134,117 in the last quarter. Insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $274.34 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.32 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.38, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 2.01. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $313.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $295.40. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $140.53 and a 52-week high of $349.00.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.25. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.81% and a return on equity of 35.01%. The firm had revenue of $113.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.24 billion. Analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 7.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOGL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, February 9th. HSBC boosted their target price on Alphabet from $335.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $335.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, President Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $323.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $368.06.

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.