John Hennessy Sells 1,050 Shares of Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Stock

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Director John Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.41, for a total value of $318,580.50. Following the sale, the director owned 4,631 shares in the company, valued at $1,405,091.71. The trade was a 18.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $298.79 on Friday. 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 has a 50 day moving average price of $317.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $293.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.61 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.10. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.66 and a 52 week high of $350.15.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.23. Alphabet had a return on equity of 35.01% and a net margin of 32.81%.The firm had revenue of $113.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.15 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on GOOG. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 16th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Alphabet from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $315.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Alphabet from $330.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $345.71.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: DeepMind hires Bridgewater’s chief scientist Jasjeet Sekhon — a high‑profile talent win that strengthens Alphabet’s AI research and commercial credentials versus rivals. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud + CVS launch “Health100” using Gemini models — expands Gemini into consumer healthcare (pharmacy, insurance, wearables) and creates a potential recurring revenue stream for cloud/AI services. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Product momentum: Stitch “vibe design” update is drawing real competition away from incumbents (Figma/Adobe) — suggests faster AI‑driven product monetization and market expansion for developer/designer tools. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Google struck agreements with five U.S. utilities to curb data‑center power use at peak demand — reduces brownout/cost risk for data‑center expansion and supports more predictable AI operations. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet is pursuing Pentagon contracts (coverage and video reports) — potential contract upside but comes with employee/PR controversy given industry disputes; outcome is uncertain for near‑term revenue. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Supply‑chain/geopolitical risk: reports that Alphabet is increasing use of Chinese suppliers for advanced liquid cooling raise export‑control and political risks for global AI builds. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: CEO Sundar Pichai and several directors have disclosed recent SEC‑filed share sales — repeated large insider sales can spook short‑term sentiment even if they are scheduled or for diversification. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Broader valuation/capex concern: commentary on massive hyperscaler AI capex and uncertain timing of returns is pressuring multiples across cloud/AI names, including Alphabet. Read More.

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.