Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Sold by Highland Capital Management LLC

Highland Capital Management LLC decreased its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 18.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 124,843 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 28,532 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 1.2% of Highland Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $22,146,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GOOG. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Robbins Farley grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 60.0% in the 2nd quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 160 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Goodman Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.38, for a total value of $5,992,350.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,527,392 shares in the company, valued at approximately $466,000,536.96. This trade represents a 1.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total transaction of $4,637,754.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at $8,371,905.30. The trade was a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 276,738 shares of company stock valued at $59,135,475 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price objective (up previously from $185.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $230.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $232.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.33.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOG stock opened at $247.13 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.66 and a 52 week high of $256.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.99 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $224.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $188.32.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.19. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The company had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $93.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th were given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.95%.

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.