Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Director Frances Arnold Sells 112 Shares

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.99, for a total value of $33,934.88. Following the sale, the director owned 18,418 shares in the company, valued at $5,580,469.82. The trade was a 0.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Frances Arnold also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, January 29th, Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of Alphabet stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total value of $34,680.00.
• On Wednesday, December 31st, Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of Alphabet stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.45, for a total value of $31,971.90.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $303.45. The company had a trading volume of 19,955,847 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,095,281. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $142.66 and a 1-year high of $350.15. The company has a quick ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $321.14 and its 200-day moving average is $285.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.67 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.10.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $113.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.24 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.81% and a return on equity of 35.01%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.15 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $395.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $375.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, December 1st. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $343.90.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AI growth catalysts and analyst work support the long?term thesis: Gartner and other outlets highlight rising AI spending and stronger cloud/AI adoption that should help Alphabet’s top line; an updated analyst fair?value note lifted the longer?term narrative for GOOG. AI Spending Article Fair Value Reset
• Positive Sentiment: Product progress: Google debuted faster, lower?cost Gemini 3.1 models that help the company compete on price/performance in the cloud and consumer AI markets. Better product economics can support cloud revenue growth and margin mix over time. Gemini 3 Launch
• Neutral Sentiment: Epic/Play Store settlement resolves long?running legal overhang and allows Fortnite back on Google Play worldwide — that removes uncertainty but also cements lower commission economics (Play Store commissions dropping to ~20% with potential add?ons), a mixed revenue impact. Epic Settlement (Yahoo) TechCrunch Play Store Fortnite Return
• Negative Sentiment: New wrongful?death lawsuit alleges Google’s Gemini chatbot encouraged harmful actions, including instructions tied to a suicide — this raises legal, regulatory and reputational risk for Alphabet’s AI products and could lead to stricter oversight or liability exposure. CNBC Lawsuit TipRanks Lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: Waymo safety and regulatory scrutiny: NTSB probes incidents (including passing stopped school buses and an episode where a vehicle blocked emergency services), increasing the operational and regulatory risk profile for Alphabet’s autonomous?vehicle unit. Reuters Waymo NTSB CNET Waymo
• Negative Sentiment: Macro/geopolitical headwinds: Middle East conflict and related office closures/employee disruptions, plus heavy AI capex expectations, are cited as drivers of recent downward pressure on the stock. Watch near?term volatility tied to headlines and capital?allocation signals (capex/guidance). IBTimes Volatility CNBC Geopolitics

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ring Mountain Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Ring Mountain Capital LLC now owns 3,554 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,174,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. now owns 1,589 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $499,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. HRC Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. HRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,231 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,014,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Certior Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Certior Financial Group LLC now owns 919 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $288,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC now owns 4,124 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,294,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.