Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Acquired by Ballast Advisors LLC

Ballast Advisors LLC raised its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 8.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,058 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,311 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 0.9% of Ballast Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Ballast Advisors LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $2,383,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dakota Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 258,546 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $36,116,000 after buying an additional 25,808 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth about $2,246,000. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 37,631 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,257,000 after acquiring an additional 753 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 81,418 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $11,373,000 after acquiring an additional 3,516 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Market Street Wealth Management Advisors LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 19.5% during the fourth quarter. Market Street Wealth Management Advisors LLC now owns 3,598 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $503,000 after purchasing an additional 588 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $156.28 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a current ratio of 2.10. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $102.63 and a one year high of $160.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.94 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.94, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s fifty day moving average is $146.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $140.78.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The information services provider reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. Alphabet had a net margin of 24.01% and a return on equity of 27.22%. The firm had revenue of $86.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.05 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 6.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.29, for a total transaction of $3,291,525.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,377,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $347,832,416.39. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.29, for a total value of $3,291,525.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,377,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $347,832,416.39. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Ruth Porat sold 48,077 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.22, for a total transaction of $6,597,125.94. Following the completion of 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. Insiders have sold a total of 251,339 shares of company stock worth $36,377,482 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on GOOGL shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Alphabet from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Redburn Atlantic lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $158.71.

Alphabet 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.