Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Reduced by LCM Capital Management Inc

LCM Capital Management Inc cut its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,014 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,395 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 6.2% of LCM Capital Management Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. LCM Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Apple were worth $10,721,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Lantz Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 29,751 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,266,000 after buying an additional 2,361 shares in the last quarter. LPF Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 4.5% in the second quarter. LPF Advisors LLC now owns 2,355 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $496,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Keystone Wealth Services LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 1.5% in the second quarter. Keystone Wealth Services LLC now owns 71,138 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $14,983,000 after purchasing an additional 1,039 shares during the period. Retirement Planning Group LLC grew its stake in Apple by 11.9% during the 2nd quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 102,149 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $21,515,000 after purchasing an additional 10,874 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hurlow Wealth Management Group Inc. increased its holdings in Apple by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Hurlow Wealth Management Group Inc. now owns 19,618 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,132,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction of $945,233.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $243.85 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The business has a fifty day moving average of $238.41 and a 200-day moving average of $228.58. The stock has a market cap of $3.69 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.46 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s payout ratio is 16.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Apple to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Apple from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. KeyCorp lowered shares of Apple from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, October 25th. Oppenheimer reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $237.47.

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.