Ballast Inc. Sells 1,331 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Ballast Inc. lessened its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 9.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,727 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,331 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 0.9% of Ballast Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Ballast Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $3,994,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Alphabet by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 421,013,782 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $132,114,125,000 after buying an additional 8,128,234 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Alphabet by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 99,529,742 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $24,240,469,000 after buying an additional 7,904,434 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $678,198,000. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $869,781,000. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $455,745,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on GOOG. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Truist Financial set a $385.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Phillip Securities cut Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $370.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $363.40.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $393.11 on Tuesday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $163.33 and a 52 week high of $404.47. The company has a market capitalization of $4.76 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.25. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $329.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $318.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $2.43. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The business had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $106.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.81 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. This is a positive change from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total value of $2,481,078.77. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 51,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,293,309.12. This represents a 14.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total value of $2,077,531.25. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 257,931 shares of company stock worth $36,886,538. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investors are looking for major AI announcements at Google I/O, including Gemini upgrades, agentic commerce features, and TPU chip progress, which could reinforce Alphabet’s leadership in AI. Google I/O primer: Alphabet’s AI showcase is its chance to wow Wall Street
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America expects broad AI product updates across Search, Chrome, and Android, supporting the view that Alphabet can keep monetizing AI across its core platforms. Google I/O preview: Bank of America expects major AI push across Search, Chrome, and Android
• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway reportedly increased its Alphabet position again, a high-profile signal that some large investors still see upside in the stock. Warren Buffett’s Successor, Greg Abel, Just Sold 16 Stocks, but Piled Into an AI Titan That’s Now a Top-5 Position for Berkshire Hathaway
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage highlights Alphabet’s strong fundamentals, including a powerful earnings beat, cloud backlog growth, and AI-driven efficiency gains, which have helped justify the rally. Alphabet: The $462B Backlog Crushed The Bear Case, But At 30x P/E I’m Trimming To Buy
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple hedge fund and billionaire portfolio updates show mixed views on Alphabet, with some managers adding while others trimmed positions, which may limit the stock’s near-term reaction. Pershing Square trims Alphabet Class C stake by 5.85M shares
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet disclosed insider-like selling by a major shareholder, which can create slight pressure if investors interpret it as profit-taking after the recent run-up. SEC filing

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) is a multinational technology holding company headquartered in Mountain View, California. Formed in 2015 through a corporate restructuring of Google, Alphabet serves as the parent to Google LLC and a portfolio of businesses collectively known as “Other Bets.” Google was originally founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin; Alphabet is led by CEO Sundar Pichai, who oversees Google and the broader company while the founders remain prominent shareholders and influential figures in the company’s history.

Alphabet’s core business centers on internet search and advertising, with Google Search and the company’s ad platforms (including Google Ads and AdSense) generating the majority of revenue by connecting advertisers with consumers worldwide.