Headlands Technologies LLC Trims Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Headlands Technologies LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 36.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 79,246 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 45,837 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises about 1.5% of Headlands Technologies LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Headlands Technologies LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $15,092,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 16,248 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,094,000 after buying an additional 1,041 shares during the last quarter. North Forty Two & Co. bought a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $281,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Alphabet by 14.4% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $927,000. Finally, Stevens Capital Management LP grew its position in Alphabet by 172.9% in the 3rd quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP now owns 91,237 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $15,254,000 after purchasing an additional 57,810 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.80, for a total value of $284,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 21,824 shares in the company, valued at $4,142,195.20. This represents a 6.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,368 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.55, for a total transaction of $262,040.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 20,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,961,445.55. This represents a 6.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 87,992 shares of company stock worth $16,093,773. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $156.23 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $180.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $178.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.90 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.41, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $148.20 and a 52-week high of $208.70.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on GOOG shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “negative” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Alphabet from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.56.

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.