Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Acquired by Ballast Inc.

Ballast Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,080 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 200 shares during the quarter. Ballast Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $575,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Tandem Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Intrepid Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Buck Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on GOOG shares. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Alphabet from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $146.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Ruth Porat sold 48,077 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.22, for a total value of $6,597,125.94. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 1,777,106 shares in the company, valued at approximately $243,854,485.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.49, for a total value of $28,698.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $973,436.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Ruth Porat sold 48,077 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.22, for a total value of $6,597,125.94. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 1,777,106 shares in the company, valued at $243,854,485.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 251,138 shares of company stock worth $35,427,655. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $152.26 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $100.29 and a twelve month high of $155.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a current ratio of 2.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.89 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $144.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $139.39.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The information services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. Alphabet had a return on equity of 27.22% and a net margin of 24.01%. The firm had revenue of $86.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $85.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.05 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 6.77 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Company Profile

Alphabet Inc offers various products and platforms in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia-Pacific, Canada, and Latin America. It operates through Google Services, Google Cloud, and Other Bets segments. The Google Services segment provides products and services, including ads, Android, Chrome, devices, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Photos, Google Play, Search, and YouTube.