Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Keating Investment Counselors Inc.

Keating Investment Counselors Inc. trimmed its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 59.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,821 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 5,550 shares during the quarter. Keating Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $805,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Allied Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Apple by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Allied Investment Advisors LLC now owns 82,976 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $14,229,000 after acquiring an additional 2,166 shares during the period. Capital CS Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 111.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital CS Group LLC now owns 4,762 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $817,000 after purchasing an additional 45,729 shares during the period. First Affirmative Financial Network grew its position in shares of Apple by 8.4% in the first quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 21,997 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,772,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares during the period. Ballew Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of Apple by 2.5% in the first quarter. Ballew Advisors Inc now owns 7,842 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,316,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Finally, Meyer Handelman Co. increased its stake in Apple by 16.0% in the first quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 604,207 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $103,609,000 after purchasing an additional 83,222 shares during the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of Apple stock opened at $230.76 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $237.49. The company has a market capitalization of $3.54 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.89, 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. The business has a 50-day moving average of $226.64 and a 200-day moving average of $209.48.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total value of $1,121,037.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 24,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,223,062.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total transaction of $50,275,897.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at $736,269,202.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 24,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,223,062.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over 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 Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $273.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. StockNews.com raised shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Cfra boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $237.27.

About Apple

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.