Highland Capital Management LLC Cuts Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Highland Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 173,079 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,038 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises approximately 1.5% of Highland Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $24,392,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Totem Point Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 22.0% in the first quarter. Totem Point Management LLC now owns 3,171 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $8,857,000 after buying an additional 571 shares during the last quarter. Somerville Kurt F raised its stake in Alphabet by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. Somerville Kurt F now owns 118 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $330,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. BCK Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at $2,564,000. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. boosted its position in Alphabet by 53.2% during the first quarter. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. now owns 144 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $402,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Fairfield Bush & CO. increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 6.8% in the first quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. now owns 3,370 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $9,412,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Raymond James upped their target price on Alphabet from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $146.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.78, for a total value of $3,347,550.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,310,191 shares in the company, valued at $343,710,216.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Alphabet news, CFO Ruth Porat sold 48,077 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.22, for a total value of $6,597,125.94. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 1,777,106 shares in the company, valued at $243,854,485.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.78, for a total transaction of $3,347,550.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,310,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $343,710,216.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 279,659 shares of company stock worth $39,460,310. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GOOG traded down $1.28 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $150.42. 5,164,747 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 22,965,262. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a current ratio of 2.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.87 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.05. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $100.28 and a one year high of $155.20. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $144.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $139.20.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The information services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $86.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $85.28 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 24.01% and a return on equity of 27.22%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.05 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.