Highland Capital Management LLC Has $31.71 Million Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Highland Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 167,518 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 3,167 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises approximately 1.8% of Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $31,711,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. LMR Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. increased its position in Alphabet by 518.8% during the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Denver PWM LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 25.4% in the third quarter. Denver PWM LLC now owns 281 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Alphabet in the second quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at about $66,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of GOOGL opened at $191.60 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $190.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $174.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market capitalization of $2.35 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.41, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.99. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $130.66 and a 52 week high of $207.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.02 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOGL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Loop Capital boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Wedbush raised their target price on Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on Alphabet from $215.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $210.62.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,367 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.41, for a total transaction of $232,950.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 23,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,007,191.15. This represents a 5.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.67, for a total transaction of $3,975,075.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,061,806 shares in the company, valued at approximately $364,259,266.02. This represents a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 89,529 shares of company stock worth $16,600,078 over the last 90 days. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.