Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) CEO Sundar Pichai Sells 32,500 Shares

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.38, for a total transaction of $9,859,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,674,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $508,028,012.80. This trade represents a 1.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Sundar Pichai also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, February 18th, Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.92, for a total value of $9,877,400.00.
• On Wednesday, February 4th, Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.18, for a total transaction of $10,893,350.00.
• On Wednesday, January 21st, Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.30, for a total value of $10,637,250.00.
• On Wednesday, January 7th, Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $321.21, for a total transaction of $10,439,325.00.
• On Monday, December 15th, Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.80, for a total transaction of $9,743,500.00.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock traded down $2.08 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $298.80. 25,537,822 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 36,175,926. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $320.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $285.01. The company has a market capitalization of $3.61 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 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 data on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.25. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.81% and a return on equity of 35.01%. The firm had revenue of $113.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.24 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on GOOGL shares. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on Alphabet from $330.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $360.00 price objective (up from $315.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Pivotal Research upped their price target on Alphabet from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group upped their target price on Alphabet from $333.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-three have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $367.18.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter valued at $31,000. PMV Capital Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth about $52,000. Finally, Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter worth approximately $53,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Large cloud commercial win — CVS will deploy an AI‑enabled health platform on Google Cloud, validating enterprise demand for recurring cloud/AI revenue and supporting the Google Cloud/Gemini growth story. CVS taps Google Cloud
• Positive Sentiment: AI partnership continuity — Google said Anthropic will remain available for non‑defense projects after DoD actions, limiting disruption to Alphabet’s access to Anthropic models and enterprise AI offerings. Google says Anthropic remains available
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and institutional support — Robert W. Baird lifted its price target to $380 and other firms have boosted targets/ratings recently, reinforcing buy narratives and upside vs. the current price. Baird raises price target
• Neutral Sentiment: Small insider sales — filings show modest sales by a director and the CAO; routine disclosures that markets note but are not large enough to signal strategic conviction changes. SEC filing — insider sales
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary on recent pullback — coverage (e.g., Zacks) highlights the stock’s slide since earnings and asks whether it can rebound, offering investor viewpoints but no new company fundamentals. Zacks — can it rebound?
• Negative Sentiment: Legal/PR overhang: a wrongful‑death lawsuit alleges harmful guidance from the Gemini chatbot, raising potential liability, regulatory scrutiny and reputational risk for Alphabet’s core AI investment thesis. Gemini wrongful‑death lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: Autonomous‑vehicle scrutiny — the NHTSA/NHTSA‑led safety forum and ongoing probes into Waymo incidents increase regulatory risk and operational uncertainty for the self‑driving unit. NHTSA self‑driving safety forum
• Negative Sentiment: App store revenue pressure — a settlement with Epic lowered Play Store commission rates (to ~20% + up to 5%), which could modestly reduce Play‑ecosystem take rates and near‑term revenue. Play Store commission cut
• Negative Sentiment: Macro/geopolitical pressure — recent tensions and tech pullbacks in affected markets (e.g., Dubai exposure) are weighing on large‑cap tech multiples, contributing to negative sentiment around GOOGL. Tech offices respond to U.S.-Iran tensions

About Alphabet

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.