Ballast Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Ballast Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,548 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 766 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up about 0.8% of Ballast Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. Ballast Advisors LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $2,744,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 3.6% during the second quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,620 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Hengehold Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 7,224 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,316,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its holdings in Alphabet by 75.0% in the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 140 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. First PREMIER Bank raised its position in Alphabet by 3.8% in the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 1,655 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MKT Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. MKT Advisors LLC now owns 7,363 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,221,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $178.12 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $166.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $170.36. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $127.90 and a 1-year high of $191.75. The stock has a market cap of $2.18 trillion, a P/E ratio of 23.62, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. The company had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.55 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 10.61%.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.68, for a total value of $3,570,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,137,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $339,160,251.80. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 21,467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.35, for a total transaction of $3,442,233.45. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 39,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,307,206.90. This trade represents a 35.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 184,295 shares of company stock worth $30,698,791. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on GOOGL shares. KeyCorp increased their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Alphabet from $217.00 to $208.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. China Renaissance upgraded Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.90.

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.