Bender Robert & Associates Sells 5,629 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Bender Robert & Associates cut its Alphabet position by 8.8% in the third quarter, selling 5,629 shares and retaining 58,685 shares valued at approximately $20 million.
• Alphabet insiders sold 315,765 shares worth about $6.3 million over the past three months, while institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the stock.
• Despite concerns over AI execution, capital spending and related litigation, analysts remain broadly bullish: Alphabet has a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $421.85, supported by strong cloud growth, AI opportunities and recent earnings that exceeded estimates.

Bender Robert & Associates reduced its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 58,685 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 5,629 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 3.9% of Bender Robert & Associates' holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Bender Robert & Associates' holdings in Alphabet were worth $19,996,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of GOOG. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Toth Financial Advisory Corp acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Timbuktu Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Robinswood Financial LLC bought a new position in Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth approximately $57,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. increased its position in Alphabet by 173.0% in the 1st quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 273 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 196,931 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.46, for a total value of $3,832,277.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 83 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 30th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $6,494,424.20. This represents a 0.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 315,765 shares of company stock valued at $6,297,980. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AI and cloud growth remain key positives. Analysts highlight accelerating Google Cloud growth, expanding operating margins, rising subscriptions and Alphabet’s distribution advantage for Gemini. Google Cloud also announced general availability of an Anthropic-managed deployment option for Claude models, potentially broadening enterprise AI adoption. Alphabet: Gemini 4 Argon Is Coming For ChatGPT's Lunch
• Positive Sentiment: Several longer-term growth opportunities support the stock. Articles point to Alphabet’s proprietary AI chips, which could become a major business, as well as a reported quantum-computing error-reduction breakthrough. Analysts also raised an Alphabet FY2027 EPS estimate modestly, reinforcing the view that earnings potential remains strong. Google's AI chip could become a $75 billion business
• Neutral Sentiment: Q3 earnings are the next major catalyst. Preview articles expect investors to focus on advertising, Google Cloud growth, AI adoption, capital expenditures and margins. Results could determine whether Alphabet’s heavy AI investment is viewed as generating sufficient returns. Alphabet's Q3 Could Change the Narrative on Its AI Spending
• Negative Sentiment: AI execution concerns are the primary negative catalyst. Reports allege that Gemini 3.5 Pro was delayed or behind schedule and that investors were not adequately informed about development setbacks. The allegations contributed to a sharp prior sell-off and have prompted multiple securities-fraud class-action notices. Google Investor Alert: Alphabet Inc. Securities Class Action Notice
• Negative Sentiment: Litigation headlines add reputational and financial uncertainty. Several law firms are seeking lead plaintiffs for lawsuits covering investors who purchased Alphabet securities between May 19 and July 16, 2026, with deadlines around November 30 or December 1. The notices largely repeat the same allegations, so they may amplify sentiment risk more than they introduce new information. Kaplan Fox Alphabet Class Action Notice
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned about AI capital intensity. Large compute commitments, data-center spending and higher interest rates are raising questions about whether future returns will justify the investment. Broader AI-stock selling and ETF net selling have added pressure to Alphabet’s valuation. Google Is Paying SpaceX $11 Billion a Year for Compute

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $317.28 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $339.42 and a 200-day moving average of $350.21. The company has a market capitalization of $3.88 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.94, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.19. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $256.10 and a 52 week high of $404.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a current ratio of 2.72.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $9.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.87 by $6.24. The firm had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $116.53 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.60 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GOOG. Phillip Securities raised shares of Alphabet from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $450.00 to $425.00 in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Citic Securities increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $430.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $415.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 18th. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $375.00 to $350.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $421.85.

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.