Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) CAO Marsida Saraci Sells 449 Shares

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $341.72, for a total value of $153,432.28. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 27,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,345,358.56. This trade represents a 1.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $357.37 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $369.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $333.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.33 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.26, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.23. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $172.77 and a 1-year high of $408.61.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $2.47. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.98 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on GOOGL. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 target price (up from $375.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 30th. President Capital upped their price target on Alphabet from $375.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. BNP Paribas Exane increased their price objective on Alphabet from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Dbs Bank upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $400.00 to $460.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $413.90.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet officially joined the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which boosted demand for the shares and highlighted the company’s growing importance in AI and large-cap tech. Alphabet debuts in Dow Jones Industrial Average as index tilts toward tech
• Positive Sentiment: Several reports pointed to bullish Wall Street views, including a higher price target from analysts and commentary that Alphabet remains a strong long-term growth stock. Alphabet Replaces Verizon In Dow Jones As Analyst Boosts Target To $415
• Positive Sentiment: Google introduced Nano Banana 2 Lite, a faster and cheaper AI image/video generator, which may strengthen its competitive position in generative AI. Google introduces a faster, cheaper image generator with Nano Banana 2 Lite
• Positive Sentiment: Visa and Google signed on to use the OpenUSD stablecoin for money movement, expanding Alphabet’s presence in digital payments and emerging commerce infrastructure. Visa and Google Sign on to Use Money Movement Stablecoin OpenUSD
• Neutral Sentiment: One director disclosed a small stock sale, which is routine and not large enough to signal a major change in fundamentals. Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of Alphabet stock
• Negative Sentiment: UK regulators are targeting Apple and Google app-store fees and payment restrictions, which could pressure Alphabet’s services revenue and app platform economics if rules are tightened. UK targets Apple, Google app store fees for developers
• Negative Sentiment: Some AI-related headlines noted talent loss to rivals and ongoing concerns about regulatory and AI-related risks, which may limit upside enthusiasm near term. Google hit by new AI brain drain as Anthropic poaches top Gemini talent

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GOOGL. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 528,969,322 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $165,567,398,000 after buying an additional 12,531,695 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Alphabet by 1.8% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 229,954,269 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $40,524,841,000 after acquiring an additional 4,008,374 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 146,193,037 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $45,625,595,000 after purchasing an additional 2,666,676 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $30,534,239,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Alphabet by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 69,108,183 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $21,630,861,000 after purchasing an additional 3,218,852 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

About Alphabet

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.