Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Stock Price Down 1.2% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) fell 1.2% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $349.82 and last traded at $350.67. 10,519,813 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 51% from the average daily volume of 21,541,119 shares. The stock had previously closed at $355.03.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is being viewed as a beneficiary of the AI and cloud buildout, with reports highlighting how its scale and cash generation are funding the next phase of infrastructure growth. How Alphabet (GOOGL) Is Leveraging Its Scale to Fund the Next Phase of AI and Cloud Infrastructure Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Reuters reported that Google urged Europe’s top court to uphold the ruling that scrapped a $1.7 billion antitrust fine, removing a potential legal overhang if the decision stands. Google urges EU top court to back ruling scrapping $1.7 billion antitrust fine
• Positive Sentiment: Several bullish previews and analyst notes said Alphabet remains a strong growth and digital advertising name, with AI-powered search and cloud helping support the case for another earnings beat on July 22. Google Stock Earnings Preview: Can Google Cloud Power Alphabet’s Next Earnings Beat?
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet remains a heavily watched stock ahead of earnings, with multiple articles noting strong investor attention and a Zacks “Strong Buy” upgrade, but these are more sentiment indicators than new fundamentals. Alphabet (GOOG) Upgraded to Strong Buy: Here’s What You Should Know
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory pressure remains a risk: Swiss authorities opened a probe into Google’s Android search-default changes, and Germany said AI Overviews are subject to media law, reinforcing ongoing antitrust and content-liability concerns. German media regulator says Google’s AI Overviews subject to German media law
• Negative Sentiment: Google also faces a new class action alleging it used copyrighted books and articles to train Gemini without permission, adding another legal headache tied to AI. Google faces another AI training lawsuit from major publishers

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on GOOG shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. KeyCorp set a $445.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $395.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Phillip Securities lowered shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $416.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $378.53.

Alphabet Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $368.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $335.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92. The stock has a market cap of $4.33 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.26, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.23.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $2.43. The company had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.96 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.81 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.32 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. This is a positive change from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $387,061.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $545,941.03. This trade represents a 41.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $341.72, for a total value of $153,432.28. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 27,348 shares in the company, valued at $9,345,358.56. The trade was a 1.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 159,415 shares of company stock valued at $7,672,279. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kathmere Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 29,896 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $9,381,000 after purchasing an additional 2,341 shares during the last quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management now owns 275,943 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $86,596,000 after purchasing an additional 2,850 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 60,739 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $19,060,000 after purchasing an additional 4,239 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 190,654 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $59,827,000 after buying an additional 15,280 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Violich Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Violich Capital Management Inc. now owns 340,776 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $106,936,000 after buying an additional 3,378 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

About Alphabet

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.