Source: MarketWatch

Analysts who follow Google Inc. cut their estimates for the Internet giant’s fourth-quarter financial results Wednesday, as the company’s shares dipped below the $300 mark for the first time in more than three years.

Analysts cited evidence that Mountain View, Calif.-based Google (GOOG) , like other Internet companies, is suffering from a marked slowdown in online advertising amid the ongoing financial crisis.

Citigroup analyst Mark Mahaney said in a note to clients that search-engine marketers, which help place advertisements with Internet search companies such as Google, have been telling him that they “almost universally expect [the fourth quarter] to be the weakest they have ever experienced.”

While maintaining a buy recommendation on Google shares, Mahaney cut by 3% his estimates for both the company’s fourth-quarter profit and net revenue, to $5.03 a share and $4.16 billion, respectively.

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