Frances Arnold Sells 441 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock

On November 4th, Frances Arnold, a director at Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL), sold 441 shares of the company’s stock. The transaction was carried out at an average price of $171.06 per share, totaling $75,437.46. Following this sale, Arnold retains direct ownership of 16,490 Alphabet shares, valued at approximately $2,820,779.40. This sale resulted in a 0.00% decrease in her stock ownership. The details of the transaction were reported in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Recent Performance of Alphabet Stock

Alphabet's shares quoted at $169.24, reflecting a decline of $2.05 during trading on the same day. In total, 20,936,597 shares changed hands, slightly lower than the average trading volume of 27,219,025 shares. The company’s financial metrics include a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.95, and a quick ratio of 2.08. Alphabet’s stock price has fluctuated between a 52-week low of $127.90 and a high of $191.75, and its 50-day and 200-day moving averages are $162.49 and $169.20, respectively. Alphabet holds a market capitalization of $2.08 trillion, with a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 22.45, a price-to-earnings-to-growth (P/E/G) ratio of 1.23, and a beta of 1.03.

Recent Earnings and Dividends

In its latest earnings report published on October 29th, Alphabet revealed earnings per share (EPS) of $2.12 for the quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.29. The company’s net margin stood at 27.74%, and it reported a return on equity (ROE) of 31.66%. Additionally, its revenue for the period was $88.27 billion, exceeding analysts’ forecasts of $72.85 billion. Analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will achieve an EPS of 7.91 for the current year. The company has also announced a quarterly dividend to be paid on December 16th, amounting to $0.20 per share, with a record date of December 9th. This dividend yields 0.47%, placing Alphabet's payout ratio at 10.61%.

Analyst Ratings and Institutional Involvement

Several research analysts have recently updated their ratings and price targets for Alphabet shares. UBS Group raised its price target from $200.00 to $204.00 while maintaining a 'neutral' rating. Tigress Financial increased its target from $210.00 to $220.00, assigning a 'strong-buy' rating. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded its stance to 'strong-buy' on October 29th. Piper Sandler reissued an 'overweight' rating with a revised price objective of $210.00 and Goldman Sachs adjusted its target from $217.00 to $208.00 with a 'buy' rating. Overall, seven analysts rated the stock as a hold, while 31 rated it as a buy and four as a strong buy. As per MarketBeat, the consensus rating stands at 'Moderate Buy' with a target price of $205.51.

Institutional Investor Activity

Recent changes by hedge funds indicate a growing interest in Alphabet shares. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC increased its stake by 11.1%, adding 8,783 shares to bring its total to 88,221 shares valued at $14,631,000. Core Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings by 10.4%, acquiring an additional 1,106 shares. GDS Wealth Management also grew its position by 3.0%, totaling 114,056 shares valued at $18,916,000 after a recent purchase. Other investment firms like TRU Independence Asset Management and Catalytic Wealth RIA have also increased their stakes in Alphabet. Currently, 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Alphabet Inc.

Alphabet Inc. operates across various segments including Google Services, Google Cloud, and Other Bets. The Google Services segment encompasses a variety of products and services such as advertising, software like Android and Chrome, devices, and platforms like YouTube and Google Maps.

Frances, Arnold, Alphabet