Highland Capital Management LLC Sells 5,819 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Highland Capital Management LLC has decreased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 3.3%, now holding 168,700 shares worth approximately $29.73 million.
• Alphabet reported earnings of $2.31 per share for the last quarter, surpassing estimates and achieving revenue of $96.43 billion, which also exceeded expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, leading to an annualized dividend yield of 0.4% and a payout ratio of 8.95%.

Highland Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 3.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 168,700 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 5,819 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up 1.6% of Highland Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Highland Capital Management LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $29,730,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of GOOGL. Missouri Trust & Investment Co boosted its stake in Alphabet by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 16,916 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,981,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. AM Investment Strategies LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. AM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 6,477 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,141,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Bfsg LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 10,428 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,838,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Financial Council LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Council LLC now owns 5,800 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,022,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Enzi Wealth boosted its stake in Alphabet by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Enzi Wealth now owns 2,561 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $236.57 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $2.86 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $140.53 and a 1-year high of $256.00. The stock's 50-day moving average is $226.31 and its 200 day moving average is $188.84.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.60 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOGL has been the subject of several analyst reports. DA Davidson raised their target price on Alphabet from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Alphabet from $230.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Wolfe Research lifted their price target on Alphabet from $220.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson lifted their price target on Alphabet from $230.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $245.88.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.23, for a total value of $6,377,475.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,494,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at $489,572,657.16. The trade was a 1.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total value of $4,637,754.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at $8,371,905.30. This trade represents a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 276,338 shares of company stock valued at $59,062,683. Corporate insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

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.

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