Highland Capital Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Highland Capital Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 153,235 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,551 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 1.7% of Highland Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $29,182,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. M&G PLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,240,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Alphabet by 14.4% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 116,776 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $19,642,000 after purchasing an additional 14,738 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 1.4% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 301,980 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $50,488,000 after purchasing an additional 4,292 shares during the period. Requisite Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth about $927,000. Finally, Stevens Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 172.9% during the 3rd quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP now owns 91,237 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $15,254,000 after buying an additional 57,810 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $205.60 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $190.48 and a 200 day moving average of $175.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 1.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.52 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.27, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.99. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $131.55 and a fifty-two week high of $207.08.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $212.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Phillip Securities upgraded Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $209.13.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,834 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $550,702.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,468,029.04. This trade represents a 13.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 37,134 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.02, for a total transaction of $6,870,532.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 282,832 shares in the company, valued at $52,329,576.64. This trade represents a 11.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 121,630 shares of company stock worth $22,258,133. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Company 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.