John Kent Walker Sells 8,998 Shares of Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Stock

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total value of $3,142,911.42. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 75,290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,298,044.10. This trade represents a 10.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Alphabet Trading Down 0.5%

GOOG opened at $356.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $173.88 and a fifty-two week high of $404.47. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $367.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $333.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.32 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.17, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.23.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $2.43. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The company had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.96 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.81 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Imprint Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Towne Trust Company N.A boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 34.0% in the 4th quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s core AI and cloud story remains strong, with new commentary pointing to continued enterprise adoption, including Google Cloud’s expanding role in financial services and other large customers. Reuters: Google disrupts NetNut proxy network used in malware operations
• Positive Sentiment: Several market updates remain bullish on Alphabet’s growth profile, highlighting strong earnings momentum, AI infrastructure investment, and favorable analyst sentiment with multiple buy ratings and elevated price targets.
• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud is gaining traction in enterprise AI, including a new deal with Jack Henry, which supports the view that Alphabet can keep growing beyond search and advertising. Zacks: GOOGL’s AI Cloud Strategy Gets a Boost From Jack Henry
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet exceeded its $1 billion Africa investment target, a strategically positive move for long-term expansion but not likely a near-term earnings driver. Reuters: Google has exceeded $1 billion Africa investment target
• Negative Sentiment: The biggest drag on GOOG today is the EU antitrust setback, which could keep regulators focused on Alphabet’s search, Android, and shopping businesses. Reuters: EU top court dismisses Google fight against record €4.1 billion EU antitrust fine
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also watching Alphabet’s heavy AI capex and compute constraints, which could pressure margins if spending stays elevated. Yahoo Finance: Alphabet Is Limiting Gemini AI Access As Cloud Capacity Tightens
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider selling by Alphabet executives, while modest, may add a little caution to sentiment. SEC filing: Alphabet insider transaction

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC set a $400.00 target price on Alphabet and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $376.19.

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.