Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Stock: Busey Bank Lowers Stake

Key Points

• Busey Bank trimmed its Alphabet stake by 0.8% in the third quarter, selling 4,547 shares and retaining 549,977 shares valued at approximately $187.4 million. Alphabet remains the bank’s fourth-largest holding.
• Other major institutions, including BlackRock, State Street, Amundi and Deutsche Bank, increased their Alphabet positions, while institutional investors collectively own 27.26% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $413.54. However, Alphabet’s latest quarterly earnings missed expectations, and heavy AI spending pressured cash flow despite strong Google Cloud growth.

Busey Bank reduced its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 549,977 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 4,547 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for about 4.5% of Busey Bank's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Busey Bank's holdings in Alphabet were worth $187,399,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Readystate Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $45,352,000. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in Alphabet by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 369,922,502 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $130,704,718,000 after buying an additional 5,164,200 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Alphabet by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 190,923,442 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $67,458,980,000 after buying an additional 5,208,690 shares during the period. Amundi raised its holdings in Alphabet by 22.9% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 21,922,379 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $6,288,654,000 after buying an additional 4,083,758 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in Alphabet by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 17,313,729 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $6,117,460,000 after buying an additional 913,666 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $475.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Truist Financial set a $410.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $345.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $400.00 price objective (down from $445.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $413.54.

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

Alphabet Trading Down 1.5%

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $278.22 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $271.41 and a twelve month high of $404.47. The company has a quick ratio of 2.64, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $335.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $338.25. The company has a market cap of $3.40 trillion, a P/E ratio of 14.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.19.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.01 by ($0.89). The business had revenue of $127.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $127.97 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 43.33% and a net margin of 50.03%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.87 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 19.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 83 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.45, for a total transaction of $28,257.35. Following the sale, the director directly owned 19,076 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,494,424.20. The trade was a 0.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In 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.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GOOG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.