Horizon Advisory Services Inc. Decreases Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Horizon Advisory Services Inc. reduced its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 6.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,086 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 155 shares during the period. Apple comprises 0.2% of Horizon Advisory Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Horizon Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $439,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 17.9% during the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 31,278 shares during the period. Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the first quarter valued at approximately $140,000. Hoese & Co LLP increased its stake in shares of Apple by 6.7% during the second quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 912 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $175,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Sage Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the second quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Finally, Benchmark Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the second quarter valued at approximately $208,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Up 0.4 %

AAPL stock opened at $225.12 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $237.49. The business’s 50-day moving average is $226.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $215.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The company has a market cap of $3.40 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.24.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $273.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Apple from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Maxim Group upped their price target on Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen upped their price target on Apple from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Cfra upped their price target on Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.51.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.86, for a total value of $13,550,347.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares in the company, valued at $111,148,695.84. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total value of $13,802,497.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 187,043 shares in the company, valued at $42,309,126.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.86, for a total value of $13,550,347.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $111,148,695.84. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 404,040 shares of company stock valued at $91,062,512. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company 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.