Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Trading Down 3.1% After Insider Selling

Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) dropped 3.1% on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $297.45 and last traded at $298.06. Approximately 27,364,220 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 15% from the average daily volume of 23,828,707 shares. The stock had previously closed at $307.73.

Specifically, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.19, for a total value of $184,914.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,206,872.04. This represents a 13.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.80, for a total transaction of $9,743,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,239,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $671,437,776.20. The trade was a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,778 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.30, for a total transaction of $867,569.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,962 shares in the company, valued at $2,798,832.60. This trade represents a 23.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on GOOG. Rosenblatt Securities set a $279.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, October 30th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Alphabet from $210.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Alphabet from $335.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Alphabet from $215.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $313.04.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud scored a very large security‑services expansion with Palo Alto Networks that sources say is “approaching $10 billion,” a material commercial win that should lift cloud revenue and backlog expectations. Google Cloud lands deal with Palo Alto Networks
• Positive Sentiment: Brokerage momentum: Wedbush and other analysts have recently raised targets/ratings (new Wedbush $350 target) — analyst upgrades and higher price targets are supporting buyer interest. New Analyst Forecast: $GOOGL Given $350 Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Talent win for AI: Coverage reports ~20% of Google’s 2025 AI software-engineer hires were “boomerang” ex‑employees — a sign management is successfully rehiring experienced AI staff amid intense competition, which supports execution on Gemini, cloud AI products and new hardware/software initiatives. Google’s boomerang year: 20% of AI software engineers hired in 2025 were ex-employees
• Neutral Sentiment: Social/market chatter highlights AI product strength (Gemini updates) and Waymo funding talk — these narratives can lift sentiment but carry execution and valuation risk if monetization timelines slip. Opinions on AI Innovations and Waymo Funding
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical/trading signals: Power‑inflow/order‑flow alerts and recent intraday momentum have drawn short‑term traders into GOOG, amplifying moves on news. GOOG Hits Intraday High After Key Trading Signal
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/legal headwinds: Mexico’s antitrust authority ordered Google to drop certain Android restrictions, and a Spanish consumer group has opened preliminary legal action over alleged data collection — these actions raise compliance, litigation and product‑bundling risk in key markets. Mexico’s antitrust commission resolves Android competition case Spanish consumer group seeks to sue Google in data row
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Multiple filings show director/exec stock sales (including CEO sales disclosed) — routine for tax/planning but some investors view concentrated insider sales negatively in the short term. Alphabet insider buying and selling

Alphabet Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.72 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $289.83 and its 200-day moving average is $234.56.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The information services provider reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.29 by $0.58. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.23% and a return on equity of 35.00%. The business had revenue of $102.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.12 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Morse Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 3.3% during the third quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 1,093 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Robinson Smith Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Robinson Smith Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,070 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $504,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Searle & CO. lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Searle & CO. now owns 5,703 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,389,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 5,846 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,424,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, BankPlus Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,143 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $766,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

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.