Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Position Trimmed by Capital Investment Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Capital Investment Advisors trimmed its Alphabet stake by 0.4% in the third quarter, selling 1,791 shares and retaining 415,695 shares valued at approximately $143 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 40.03% of Alphabet.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with Alphabet holding an average “Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $410.46, despite several firms recently lowering their targets.
• Alphabet’s latest quarter fell short of expectations, with EPS of $2.12 versus a roughly $3.00 consensus and revenue of $127.58 billion. Heavy AI infrastructure spending, weaker-than-expected Search monetization, an EU antitrust fine, and a SpaceX investment loss added pressure, although Google Cloud growth remains a significant positive.

Capital Investment Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 415,695 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 1,791 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 1.8% of Capital Investment Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Capital Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $143,032,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GOOGL. Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 177,524 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $61,083,000 after acquiring an additional 3,538 shares during the period. Vision Financial Markets LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 50.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC now owns 300 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc grew its holdings in Alphabet by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Atala Financial Inc now owns 33,219 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $11,430,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL now owns 50,700 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $17,445,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 247,898 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $85,297,000 after acquiring an additional 2,850 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 83 shares of the company'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 approximately $6,494,424.20. This represents a 0.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 247 shares of company stock valued at $79,238. 11.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on GOOGL shares. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $375.00 price objective (down from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday. Roth Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $440.00 target price (up from $435.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $425.00 to $400.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Alphabet to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $480.00 price target (up from $465.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $410.46.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOGL opened at $279.84 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $270.70 and a 12-month high of $408.61. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $339.07 and a 200-day moving average of $340.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.42 trillion, a P/E ratio of 14.61, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.21.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.02 by ($0.90). The firm had revenue of $127.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $127.96 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 50.03% and a return on equity of 43.33%. Equities analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.40 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud revenue more than doubled year over year to approximately $30.7 billion, while its backlog reached $561 billion. The results support Alphabet’s position as a major beneficiary of enterprise AI demand. Alphabet's Cloud Business Just Doubled
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts remain constructive after the selloff. Guggenheim and Needham reaffirmed “buy” ratings with $450 targets, while Citigroup and Wells Fargo retained bullish ratings and projected substantial upside despite lowering their targets.
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s AI ecosystem could gain from rising demand for cloud capacity and specialized chips. Waymo is also expanding internationally through a partnership with Toyota, although the business remains small relative to Alphabet’s core operations. Waymo taps Toyota to supply robotaxis
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple securities law firms publicized class-action lawsuits and lead-plaintiff deadlines tied to alleged disclosures about Alphabet’s Gemini AI development. These notices add headline risk, but their direct financial impact remains uncertain.
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet reported adjusted earnings of $2.12 per share, below consensus near $2.94-$3.02, while revenue of $127.6 billion also missed expectations. Search and other revenue grew about 12% to roughly $63 billion, but fell short of forecasts, reinforcing fears that AI-generated answers and “AI mode” searches may monetize less effectively than traditional Search.
• Negative Sentiment: AI infrastructure spending caused free cash flow to remain negative by roughly $9.1 billion for a second consecutive quarter. Investors are questioning whether the enormous capital outlays will produce adequate returns and whether Alphabet may need additional debt or equity financing.
• Negative Sentiment: An unrealized loss on Alphabet’s SpaceX investment reduced quarterly earnings by approximately $0.55 per share, while an EU antitrust fine further pressured results. Analysts including RBC, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, Wedbush, KeyCorp and Cantor Fitzgerald lowered price targets, even though most maintained positive ratings.

Alphabet Profile

Alphabet Inc is a technology holding company best known for its Google subsidiary. Google operates a global internet-services business centered on online search, digital advertising, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Google Maps, Google Play, and a broad range of cloud-based productivity and collaboration tools.

Google Cloud provides infrastructure, data analytics, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and enterprise software services to businesses, governments, and other organizations. Alphabet also develops consumer hardware, including Pixel devices and products for connected homes, while investing in emerging businesses through its “Other Bets” segment, including autonomous transportation and life sciences initiatives.

Alphabet was established in 2015 as part of a corporate restructuring that made Google a subsidiary and provided a separate structure for its expanding portfolio of businesses.

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