Royal Fund Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Royal Fund Management LLC decreased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 23.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 48,579 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 15,080 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 0.8% of Royal Fund Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Royal Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $10,244,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,912,466,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Apple by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,318,064,349 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $253,766,929,000 after buying an additional 18,067,216 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Apple during the first quarter worth $3,026,492,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 23,076.4% during the first quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC now owns 9,240,214 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,584,512,000 after buying an additional 9,200,345 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in Apple by 158.3% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 11,532,438 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,977,582,000 after buying an additional 7,067,379 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $222.50 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $237.23. The company has a market capitalization of $3.41 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.60, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a 50 day moving average of $223.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $198.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $85.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.43 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 147.15% and a net margin of 26.44%. The business’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.26 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.7 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on AAPL. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Apple from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $255.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Apple from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $273.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Loop Capital upgraded Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $170.00 to $300.00 in a report on Monday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $239.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total transaction of $1,121,037.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 24,125 shares in the company, valued at $5,223,062.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total value of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total value of $1,121,037.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 24,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,223,062.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 113,884 shares of company stock worth $23,723,887. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Company Profile

Apple Inc designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories worldwide. The company offers iPhone, a line of smartphones; Mac, a line of personal computers; iPad, a line of multi-purpose tablets; and wearables, home, and accessories comprising AirPods, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Beats products, and HomePod.