Ballast Inc. Lowers Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Ballast Inc. lessened its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 7.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,622 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 385 shares during the quarter. Ballast Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $773,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 0.7% during the second quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,985 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,465,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. PCG Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. PCG Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,880 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $345,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.6% in the second quarter. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV now owns 3,636 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $667,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV increased its position in Alphabet by 2.0% during the second quarter. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV now owns 2,944 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $540,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 11.1% during the first quarter. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC now owns 600 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $165.05 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $163.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.08 and a quick ratio of 2.08. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $121.46 and a 1 year high of $193.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.04.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.04. Alphabet had a net margin of 26.70% and a return on equity of 30.49%. The firm had revenue of $84.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.44 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on GOOG shares. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Alphabet to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Alphabet from $210.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wolfe Research upgraded Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Pivotal Research initiated coverage on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $215.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, DA Davidson raised shares of Alphabet to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $186.90.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, SVP Prabhakar Raghavan sold 34,257 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.60, for a total value of $5,570,188.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 312,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,765,346. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.35, for a total value of $3,652,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,182,385 shares in the company, valued at $354,310,204.75. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Prabhakar Raghavan sold 34,257 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.60, for a total transaction of $5,570,188.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 312,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,765,346. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 220,426 shares of company stock valued at $35,993,340. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.