Thomas Story & Son LLC Sells 5,325 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Thomas Story & Son LLC trimmed its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 48,521 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 5,325 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 4.4% of Thomas Story & Son LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Thomas Story & Son LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $10,220,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the first quarter valued at $140,000. Hoese & Co LLP boosted its holdings in Apple by 6.7% in the second quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 912 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $175,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Benchmark Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the second quarter valued at $208,000. Sequent Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the second quarter valued at $214,000. Finally, Savior LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the second quarter valued at $248,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $235.00 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $225.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $207.84. The company has a market capitalization of $3.60 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $237.49.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 147.15%. The firm had revenue of $85.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.55%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total value of $13,433,768.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,416,137.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total value of $50,275,897.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $736,269,202.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total transaction of $13,433,768.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,416,137.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 517,924 shares of company stock worth $114,786,399. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $261.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Loop Capital raised shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $170.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Maxim Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $203.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $239.27.

Apple 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.