Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Stock Sold by Middleton & Co. Inc. MA

Middleton & Co. Inc. MA decreased its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 4.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 187,785 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 8,086 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up approximately 6.8% of Middleton & Co. Inc. MA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $64,613,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Titleist Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Titleist Asset Management LLC now owns 34,613 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $11,909,000 after acquiring an additional 2,096 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 89,299 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $25,679,000 after acquiring an additional 2,269 shares during the last quarter. Elefante Mark B grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 4.5% in the second quarter. Elefante Mark B now owns 43,733 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $15,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,897 shares during the period. Nwam LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 19.6% in the first quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 49,128 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $14,127,000 after purchasing an additional 8,055 shares during the period. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 287.4% in the first quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 3,886 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,063,000 after purchasing an additional 2,883 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $279.84 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $339.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $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 company has a market capitalization 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $270.70 and a 12-month high of $408.61.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.02 by ($0.90). 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 analysts’ expectations of $127.96 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.05 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on GOOGL shares. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $420.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $375.00 target price (down from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday. Moffett Nathanson set a $345.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Alphabet from $460.00 to $400.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Pivotal Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $475.00 price target (up from $470.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $410.46.

Alphabet News Roundup

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.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 83 shares of Alphabet 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 19,076 shares in the company, valued at $6,494,424.20. This trade represents a 0.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold 247 shares of company stock worth $79,238 in the last ninety days. 11.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Alphabet

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.