TLDR
- Alphabet insider John Kent Walker sold ~47,574 shares of GOOGL on Feb. 17, 2026, for roughly $14.34 million, cutting his position by 78.25%.
- The sale was executed through the Arete Trust at average prices between $297.70 and $304.47.
- Alphabet recently beat Q4 estimates with EPS of $2.82 vs. $2.59 expected and revenue of $113.83 billion, up 18% year-over-year.
- GOOGL trades around $303, carrying a P/E of 28 and a market cap of $3.67 trillion, with a consensus analyst target of $343.90.
- Alphabet declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, payable March 16, implying a ~0.3% yield.
John Kent Walker, Alphabet’s President of Global Affairs and Chief Legal Officer, sold 47,574 shares of Class C stock on February 17, 2026, for a total of roughly $14.34 million.
The shares were sold at a weighted average price between $297.70 and $304.47. After the transaction, Walker’s total direct and indirect holdings dropped sharply.
The sale was made indirectly through the Arete Trust, where Walker and Diana Ruth Walsh serve as co-trustees. The trust now holds 13,227 shares, and Walker directly holds an additional 23,939 shares.
This represents a 78.25% reduction in his position — a big move, though insider sales at large-cap companies often reflect personal financial planning rather than a specific view on the stock.
The transaction was filed with the SEC and is publicly available. Walker made a similar move in December 2024, selling 17,829 shares at an average of $314.89 for around $5.6 million.
Strong Earnings Backdrop
The sale comes shortly after Alphabet posted a solid Q4 earnings report on February 4, 2026. The company reported EPS of $2.82, beating the $2.59 consensus estimate by $0.23.
Revenue came in at $113.83 billion, topping the $111.24 billion Wall Street was expecting. That marks an 18% jump from the same quarter a year ago, when EPS stood at $2.15.
Return on equity was 35.01%, and net margin came in at 32.81%. Analysts now expect full-year EPS of $8.89 for the current fiscal year.
Alphabet also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, annualized at $0.84, payable on March 16. The ex-dividend date is March 9. The yield sits at roughly 0.3%, with a payout ratio of just 7.77%.
Where the Stock Stands Now
GOOGL trades around $303.56, down slightly on the day. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $320.86 and a 200-day moving average of $278.09.
Over the past year, shares are up around 65%, and up 52% over the last six months. The 52-week range runs from $142.66 to $350.15.
The P/E ratio sits at 28.08, with a PEG ratio of 1.78. Market cap is $3.67 trillion. Debt-to-equity is a low 0.11.
Analysts remain broadly bullish. The consensus rating is “Buy” with an average price target of $343.90. UBS carries a neutral rating with a $348 target, while KeyCorp has a $370 target. Citizens maintained a Market Outperform rating with a $385 target.
Institutional investors have been adding. Vanguard raised its stake by 2% in Q4, and J. Stern & Co. made a dramatic increase of over 28,000% in the same period.
Alphabet’s Gemini AI model recently scored 77.1% on the ARC-AGI-2 benchmark, and the company launched new AI partnerships with Sea Ltd and Apple.
On the regulatory side, New York dropped a proposal that would have allowed Waymo to expand robotaxi services outside NYC.
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