Yost Capital Management LP Reduces Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Yost Capital Management LP cut its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 50.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,430 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 7,430 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 2.6% of Yost Capital Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Yost Capital Management LP’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,565,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Bellwether Advisors LLC grew its position in Apple by 387.3% in the second quarter. Bellwether Advisors LLC now owns 24,349 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,128,000 after acquiring an additional 19,352 shares during the period. Gentry Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the second quarter valued at $876,000. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 920,737 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $193,926,000 after purchasing an additional 8,028 shares during the last quarter. WT Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter worth $80,057,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Apple by 10.3% during the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 16,745,201 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,526,874,000 after purchasing an additional 1,557,848 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $227.48 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.44 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.24. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $237.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $226.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $213.51.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The business had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.46 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. Apple’s payout ratio is 16.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on AAPL. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $205.00 to $212.92 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $285.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their price target on Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.51.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total value of $13,433,768.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,416,137.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 412,746 shares of company stock worth $93,021,362. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.