Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Lessened by Affinity Investment Advisors LLC

Affinity Investment Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,203 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 619 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 2.6% of Affinity Investment Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Affinity Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,775,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. EMC Capital Management increased its holdings in Apple by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 892 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $201,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Americana Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 8.8% during the third quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 186,062 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $43,353,000 after purchasing an additional 15,079 shares in the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 10.8% in the third quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 238,905 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $55,665,000 after purchasing an additional 23,344 shares during the period. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 2.1% during the third quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC now owns 121,519 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $28,314,000 after purchasing an additional 2,492 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fonville Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fonville Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,475 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,470,000 after purchasing an additional 1,591 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Down 0.2 %

AAPL opened at $243.36 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. The firm has a market cap of $3.68 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s 50 day moving average is $238.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $228.69. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. StockNews.com cut Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wedbush lifted their price target on Apple from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 26th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Apple to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $238.03.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is owned by 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.