Moody National Bank Trust Division Sells 17,101 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Moody National Bank Trust Division lessened its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 25.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 50,511 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 17,101 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises approximately 1.5% of Moody National Bank Trust Division’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Moody National Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $15,810,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. PMV Capital Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter valued at approximately $53,000. iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the third quarter worth $53,000. Corsicana & Co. purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the third quarter worth $54,000. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 37.9% in the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 324 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.41, for a total transaction of $318,580.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,405,091.71. This trade represents a 18.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $321.21, for a total value of $10,439,325.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,244,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $720,914,730.12. The trade was a 1.43% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 2,110,165 shares of company stock valued at $118,134,117 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $274.34 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 2.01. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $313.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $295.40. The company has a market capitalization of $3.32 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.10. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $140.53 and a 1-year high of $349.00.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.25. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.81% and a return on equity of 35.01%. The company had revenue of $113.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.24 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and price-target raises reinforce bullish medium-term views — Wells Fargo raised its price target and kept an Overweight rating, and Needham reaffirmed its Buy with a $400 target; MarketBeat and other outlets note heavy analyst upgrading of GOOGL. These moves support upside expectations despite short-term weakness. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s AI innovation (TurboQuant / Gemini traction) is being framed as a competitive advantage — the company’s new compression research and Gemini adoption could lower AI operating costs and drive product differentiation, strengthening long-term revenue prospects. This is part of why some analysts lifted estimates and price targets. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamentals remain solid: recent earnings beat, robust cloud growth and advertising resilience provide a valuation anchor and a reason many institutions view pullbacks as buying opportunities. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical correction — the stock has moved below $300 and broken key short-term support, which can amplify volatility even if the longer-term trend stays intact; investors should watch $280–$260 support zones. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Executive departure in India: Google’s top India counsel resigned amid ongoing regulatory challenges in a key market, a factor to monitor for regional regulatory execution but not an immediate earnings driver. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Landmark jury verdicts finding YouTube/Google liable in social-media addiction cases have created legal overhang and the possibility of broader litigation or regulatory exposure — courts and commentators compare potential fallout to past “Big Tobacco”-style settlements, increasing perceived legal risk for Alphabet. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: New lawsuits allege Google’s search/AI features disclosed personal information of Jeffrey Epstein victims; such privacy/AI-related claims add another legal/regulatory headline that can pressure sentiment and increase potential litigation costs or product changes. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Broader tech selloff — geopolitical war worries and landmark Meta legal losses have sparked rotation out of large-cap tech this week, amplifying Alphabet’s decline despite company-specific strengths. Market risk sentiment is a near-term headwind. Read More.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Alphabet from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wolfe Research lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $375.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $368.06.

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.