Busey Bank lowered its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG – Free Report) by 0.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 549,977 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 4,547 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for 4.5% of Busey Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Busey Bank’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $187,399,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 0.3% during the first quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,508 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,094,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 0.6% in the first quarter. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 4,844 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,390,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Wisconsin Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 1.3% in the second quarter. Wisconsin Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,223 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $785,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Financial Planning LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cypress Financial Planning LLC now owns 2,198 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $749,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Finally, Johnson Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Johnson Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,842 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $651,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.
Key Alphabet News
Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud delivered exceptional growth. Revenue more than doubled year over year to approximately $30.7 billion, while operating margins expanded and the backlog reached roughly $561 billion. This supports the view that Alphabet’s AI investments are generating demand. Alphabet Cloud Business Article
- Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s AI platform may create new revenue streams. OpenAI reportedly plans to use Google’s tensor-processing units, while Gemini performance and expanding AI Search advertising could help Alphabet compete in the AI infrastructure market. Analysts including Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan remain constructive, despite lowering price targets. OpenAI Google AI Chips Article
- Positive Sentiment: Valuation has become more attractive. Reports place GOOG’s price-to-earnings ratio near 14.6, the lowest level in many years, prompting some investors to characterize the selloff as a potential long-term buying opportunity. Google Valuation Article
- Neutral Sentiment: Waymo is expanding internationally. Alphabet’s autonomous-driving unit will test Toyota bZ4X robotaxis in Japan and the U.K., but the business remains small and cash-burning. Waymo Toyota Partnership Article
- Negative Sentiment: Quarterly results missed expectations. Alphabet reported approximately $2.12 in earnings per share and $127.6 billion in revenue, below consensus forecasts. Search revenue grew but missed estimates, and AI-powered searches are reportedly harder to monetize than traditional searches. Alphabet Search Earnings Article
- Negative Sentiment: AI spending is straining cash flow. Capital expenditures and infrastructure commitments pushed free cash flow approximately $9 billion negative for the quarter, raising concerns about returns on Alphabet’s enormous AI investment program and potential financing or dilution. Tech Giants AI Spending Article
- Negative Sentiment: Additional earnings pressure came from investments and legal risk. An unrealized loss on Alphabet’s SpaceX stake reduced earnings, while multiple law firms publicized securities class-action deadlines tied to alleged AI disclosures. These lawsuits are largely investor notices, but they add reputational and headline risk. Alphabet Class Action Notice
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research firms have recently weighed in on GOOG. New Street Research lowered their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $455.00 to $405.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $325.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $425.00 price target on Alphabet in a research report on Thursday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $413.54.
View Our Latest Stock Report on GOOG
Insider Transactions at Alphabet
In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 83 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.45, for a total value of $28,257.35. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 19,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,494,424.20. This represents a 0.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 247 shares of company stock valued at $79,238. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.
Alphabet Trading Down 1.5%
Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $278.22 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $271.41 and a 12-month high of $404.47. The stock has a market cap of $3.40 trillion, a PE ratio of 14.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a 50 day moving average of $335.73 and a 200-day moving average of $338.25. The company has a quick ratio of 2.64, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.01 by ($0.89). The firm had revenue of $127.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $127.97 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 43.33% and a net margin of 50.03%. Alphabet’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.87 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 19.99 earnings per share for the current year.
Alphabet Profile
Alphabet Inc is a technology holding company best known as the parent organization of Google. Founded in 2015 through a corporate restructuring, Alphabet oversees Google and a collection of businesses focused on technology, online services, communications, artificial intelligence, and other emerging areas.
Google’s principal products and services include its internet search engine, digital advertising platforms, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Google Maps, Google Play, and Google Workspace. The company also provides cloud computing, data storage, cybersecurity, productivity, and artificial intelligence services through Google Cloud.
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