Frances Arnold Sells 102 Shares of Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.45, for a total value of $31,971.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 18,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,706,357.25. The trade was a 0.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

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

• On Monday, December 1st, Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of Alphabet stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $317.66, for a total value of $32,401.32.
• On Thursday, October 30th, Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of Alphabet stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.80, for a total value of $32,681.60.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.3%

GOOGL stock opened at $313.00 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $300.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $242.55. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $140.53 and a twelve month high of $328.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.78 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.87, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by $0.58. The company had revenue of $102.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.90 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.23% and a return on equity of 35.00%. On average, equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 8th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 8th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 8.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on GOOGL shares. Truist Financial set a $350.00 target price on Alphabet and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $340.00 to $343.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $300.00 target price (up from $265.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-one have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $317.76.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GOOGL. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter worth about $31,000. iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new position in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Corsicana & Co. purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $54,000. Finally, CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. lifted its position in Alphabet by 36.4% in the second quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 251 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Key Stores Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AI momentum and 2025 strength: Coverage highlights that Alphabet’s AI launches and product moves (Gemini, model upgrades) helped lift ad and cloud monetization, driving a banner 2025 that underpins bullish investor views. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade flow: Some sell‑side shops have raised targets (notably a Citizens JMP upgrade to $385), which can attract buying interest and support the share price. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Firm buy-side / retail interest: Multiple investor pieces list Alphabet as a top 2026 AI/capital‑allocation idea due to its distribution edge, cloud growth and end‑to‑end AI stack. That narrative is helping demand from advisors and retail channels. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Operational moves (energy / Intersect Power): Alphabet’s purchases of energy and data‑center power capacity are strategically important for scale but are longer‑dated benefits for EPS. BNP Paribas Exane reaffirmed coverage amid the Intersect Power story. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Emerging tech exposure (quantum): Market commentary positions Alphabet as a lower‑risk way to get quantum exposure versus pure‑play names — relevant for strategic, longer‑term investors rather than a near‑term catalyst. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Large disclosed sales (John Kent Walker sold ~17,829 shares; director Frances Arnold also sold) may create near‑term selling pressure or signal tax/planning activity that investors watch. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: CapEx and margin risk: Analysts warn heavy AI infrastructure spending across hyperscalers could pressure near‑term free cash flow and margins, a key risk for valuation if spending outpaces revenue conversion. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/legal noise: Ongoing reporting about DOJ probes and policy scrutiny adds an overhang that can dent sentiment if enforcement escalates. Read More.

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.