Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Stock: Vantage Investment Partners LLC Lowers Holdings

Vantage Investment Partners LLC cut its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 2.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 353,791 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 10,047 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up about 7.3% of Vantage Investment Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Vantage Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $120,551,000 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 the company. SpringVest Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 55.0% in the third quarter. SpringVest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,432 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $488,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. Prism Planning Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter worth about $172,000. AMI Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. now owns 36,277 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $12,361,000 after purchasing an additional 1,629 shares during the last quarter. Victory Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Financial Group LLC now owns 12,633 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $4,304,000 after purchasing an additional 1,611 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great Lakes Retirement Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 3,834 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,307,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $385.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday. Oppenheimer reissued 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. Truist Financial set a $410.00 price objective on Alphabet in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wedbush started coverage on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $445.00 price objective on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $413.54.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

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 Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $278.22 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $335.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $338.25. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $271.41 and a fifty-two week high of $404.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.40 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.64.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted 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 $3.01 by ($0.89). Alphabet had a return on equity of 43.33% and a net margin of 50.03%. The firm had revenue of $127.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $127.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.87 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict 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 value of $28,257.35. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 19,076 shares in the company, valued at $6,494,424.20. The trade was a 0.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 247 shares of company stock worth $79,238. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

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.