Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Stock: Middleton & Co. Inc. MA Decreases Holdings

Key Points

• Middleton & Co. Inc. MA cut its Alphabet stake by 4.1% in the third quarter, selling 8,086 shares and retaining 187,785 shares worth approximately $64.6 million. Alphabet remains the firm’s second-largest holding and represents 6.8% of its portfolio.
• Alphabet’s latest results missed expectations, with adjusted EPS of $2.12 versus consensus near $3.02 and revenue of $127.6 billion. Strong Google Cloud growth and a $561 billion backlog highlighted AI demand, but heavy infrastructure spending kept free cash flow negative and raised return-on-investment concerns.
• Despite the earnings miss, analysts maintain a broadly positive view, with the stock carrying a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $410.46. Shares opened at $279.84, while legal actions tied to Gemini disclosures and concerns about AI’s impact on Search add risks.

Middleton & Co. Inc. MA lowered its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 4.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 187,785 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 8,086 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises approximately 6.8% of Middleton & Co. Inc. MA's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA's holdings in Alphabet were worth $64,613,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GOOGL. EMC Capital Management acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. Core Capital Management & Research inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet during the second quarter worth approximately $41,000. Intelligent Financial Strategies purchased a new position in Alphabet during the third quarter worth approximately $41,000. Premier Financial Group acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the second quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Van Den Berg Management I Inc. grew its holdings in Alphabet by 319.6% in the first quarter. Van Den Berg Management I Inc. now owns 214 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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 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 Trading Down 1.4%

GOOGL stock opened at $279.84 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $270.70 and a 12-month high of $408.61. The business's 50-day moving average is $339.07 and its 200 day moving average is $340.17. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a market cap of $3.42 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.61, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.21.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.02 by ($0.90). The firm had revenue of $127.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $127.96 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 50.03% and a return on equity of 43.33%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Roth Capital restated a "buy" rating and issued a $440.00 price objective (up from $435.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Citigroup decreased their target price on Alphabet from $447.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. DZ Bank raised shares of Alphabet to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $385.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $410.46.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, Director Frances Arnold sold 83 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.45, for a total transaction of $28,257.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 19,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,494,424.20. The trade was a 0.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold 247 shares of company stock worth $79,238 in the last three months. 11.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Alphabet Company 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.

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