Highland Capital Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Highland Capital Management LLC lowered its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 1.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 170,685 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,946 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 1.6% of Highland Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $28,308,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,620 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Hengehold Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.8% in the second quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 7,224 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,316,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 75.0% during the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 140 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. First PREMIER Bank raised its holdings in Alphabet by 3.8% during 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 lifted its position in Alphabet by 0.8% in the third quarter. MKT Advisors LLC now owns 7,363 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,221,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.36, for a total transaction of $3,990,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,084,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $369,672,512.16. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.03, for a total value of $130,424.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 30,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,894,812.72. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.36, for a total value of $3,990,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,084,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $369,672,512.16. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 232,052 shares of company stock worth $38,424,448. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOGL opened at $176.51 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $162.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.36. 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 stock has a market cap of $2.17 trillion, a P/E ratio of 23.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.03. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $127.90 and a 12 month high of $191.75.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $88.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.85 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.55 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on GOOGL. Seaport Res Ptn raised Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. TD Securities boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.90.

About Alphabet

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.