William Blair Investment Management LLC Sells 262,156 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

William Blair Investment Management LLC lessened its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 42.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 359,232 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 262,156 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $63,307,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Alphabet by 242.9% in the first quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 85.7% during the first quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the first quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,778 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total transaction of $680,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 17,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,236,785. This trade represents a 13.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.50, for a total transaction of $8,108,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,397,392 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $598,149,304. The trade was a 1.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 246,150 shares of company stock worth $55,805,379. Insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOGL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $252.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $290.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $280.00 price target (up from $210.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $264.34.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOGL opened at $267.47 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $140.53 and a one year high of $270.73. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $239.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $197.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.23 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.00.

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.