Rep. C. Scott Franklin Sells Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Representative C. Scott Franklin (Republican-Florida) recently sold shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG). In a filing disclosed on September 17th, the Representative disclosed that they had sold between $1,001 and $15,000 in Alphabet stock on August 20th. The trade occurred in the Representative’s “FIDELITY ROTH IRA” account.

Representative C. Scott Franklin also recently made the following trade(s):

• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) on 8/26/2026.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) on 8/26/2026.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) on 8/26/2026.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Accenture (NYSE:ACN) on 8/26/2026.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) on 8/20/2026.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) on 8/20/2026.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of GOOG stock traded up $0.73 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $344.41. 34,036,212 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,280,880. The company has a quick ratio of 2.64, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.21 trillion, a PE ratio of 17.30, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.21. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $236.68 and a 1-year high of $404.47. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $343.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $342.77.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $9.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $6.24. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. The firm had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $116.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.31 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.51 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 7th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 4.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on GOOG shares. DZ Bank upgraded Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Freedom Capital upgraded Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $395.00 target price (down from $445.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Pivotal Research upped their target price on Alphabet from $470.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Alphabet from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $415.55.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 82 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.71, for a total value of $27,692.22. Following the sale, the director owned 18,995 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,414,801.45. This represents a 0.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.20, for a total transaction of $149,606.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 27,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,125,015.20. The trade was a 1.61% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 450,875 shares of company stock worth $11,984,482. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in Alphabet by 1.4% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 369,922,502 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $130,704,718,000 after acquiring an additional 5,164,200 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $18,093,665,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 24,595,622 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $7,693,281,000 after purchasing an additional 508,718 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 22,048,456 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $6,918,805,000 after buying an additional 517,108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in Alphabet by 22.9% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 21,922,379 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $6,288,654,000 after purchasing an additional 4,083,758 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Antitrust ruling removes breakup risk: A federal judge declined to force Google to sell or separate its ad-tech businesses. Although Alphabet must share more auction data, improve interoperability, and appoint an antitrust compliance monitor, investors generally viewed the remedies as less severe than a breakup. Google should appoint antitrust compliance officer
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts see improving search and AI momentum: Evercore raised its price target to $450, citing a recovering search business and gains for Gemini against competing AI tools. Analysts also point to Google Cloud’s strong growth, a $514 billion backlog, and rising enterprise AI adoption. Alphabet stock jumps as Wall Street raises targets
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo expands internationally: Alphabet’s autonomous-driving unit plans to launch all-electric robotaxi service in Singapore by 2028, marking its first Southeast Asian market and reinforcing the longer-term value of Alphabet’s non-search businesses. Waymo to bring autonomous ride-hailing to Singapore
• Positive Sentiment: AI chips are becoming a revenue stream: Alphabet began recognizing revenue from sales of its custom AI chip systems in the second quarter. A $22 billion financing arrangement for the Crux AI TPU buildout could support further chip deployment and cloud growth. 2 Stocks to Buy as Google Starts Selling Its AI Chips
• Neutral Sentiment: Options activity signals bullish positioning: Investors purchased more than 212,000 Alphabet call options, above typical daily volume, suggesting increased speculative interest but not guaranteeing further gains.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory oversight and AI spending remain risks: The ad-tech remedies could constrain business practices for years, while heavy AI infrastructure investment is pressuring free cash flow. California’s new AI-related executive order may also add compliance uncertainty.

About Representative Franklin

Scott Franklin (Republican Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Florida’s 18th Congressional District. He assumed office on January 3, 2023. His current term ends on January 3, 2027.

Franklin (Republican Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Florida’s 18th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election.

Scott Franklin was born in Thomaston, Georgia. Franklin graduated from Lakeland High School. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1986 to 2000 and the U.S. Navy Reserve from 2000 to 2012.

Franklin earned a B.S. from the United States Naval Academy in 1986 and an M.B.A. from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 1994. Franklin’s career experience includes owning an insurance agency and working as a naval aviator with the U.S. Navy.

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc is a technology holding company best known as the parent company of Google. It was established in 2015 as part of a corporate restructuring intended to separate Google’s core internet businesses from a collection of other ventures. Google remains Alphabet’s largest business and serves users, advertisers, businesses and developers worldwide.

Google’s principal products and services include its internet search engine, online advertising platforms, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Google Maps, Google Play and Google Photos.