Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Sold by Orca Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Orca Investment Management cut its Alphabet stake by 16.3% in the third quarter, selling 5,374 shares and retaining 27,501 shares worth about $9.37 million.
• Alphabet’s latest quarter delivered 24.7% year-over-year revenue growth to $127.58 billion, but EPS of $2.12 fell short of the $3.01 consensus estimate; the article also flags negative free cash flow amid heavy AI investment.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: the stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $413.38, based on 41 Buy or Strong Buy ratings among 47 analysts.

Orca Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 16.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,501 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 5,374 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up approximately 7.3% of Orca Investment Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Orca Investment Management LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $9,371,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GOOG. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,508 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $3,094,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Wisconsin Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Cypress Financial Planning LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 1.3% during the third quarter. Cypress Financial Planning LLC now owns 2,198 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $749,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 1.7% during the second quarter. Johnson Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,842 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $651,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on GOOG. Citic Securities lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $430.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $350.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $435.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and set a $385.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed a "sector outperform" rating and set a $375.00 price target (down from $450.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $413.38.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $278.27 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $333.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $337.67. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a market capitalization of $3.40 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.52, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.21. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $271.41 and a 12-month high of $404.47.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.01 by ($0.89). Alphabet had a net margin of 50.03% and a return on equity of 43.33%. The company had revenue of $127.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $127.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.87 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 19.80 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 7th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 7th. Alphabet's payout ratio is 4.59%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 83 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.45, for a total value of $28,257.35. Following the sale, the director directly owned 19,076 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,494,424.20. The trade was a 0.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 247 shares of company stock valued at $79,238. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud revenue more than doubled year over year to about $30.7 billion, and the company has a substantial backlog. A report that OpenAI is interested in buying Google’s AI chips could also help Alphabet monetize its infrastructure investment. OpenAI Wants to Buy Google AI Chips
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is reportedly in preliminary discussions related to the U.S. Defense Department’s Golden Dome initiative. A contract could diversify revenue and help generate returns on its AI infrastructure, though no agreement is confirmed. Alphabet’s Golden Dome Talks Could Open a New Market
• Neutral Sentiment: Google says it will make AI tools opt-in for K–12 accounts, but the changes have drawn political criticism after reports that schools restricting AI could also lose Search by default. The controversy may create reputational risk, while the effect on revenue is unclear. Google responds to political backlash over removing search from schools
• Negative Sentiment: The latest quarter’s $2.12 per-share earnings missed analyst expectations, while aggressive AI investment pushed free cash flow into negative territory. Investors are also weighing expectations for higher capital spending, which could pressure cash flow further before the investments pay off. Alphabet's Free Cash Flow Just Turned Negative
• Negative Sentiment: Several law firms publicized an existing securities class action concerning alleged disclosures about Gemini 3.5 Pro’s training results. The announcements add legal and headline risk, but are not findings of wrongdoing. Alphabet securities class action deadline notice

About Alphabet

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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