Sfmg LLC Trims Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Sfmg LLC lessened its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 222,415 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,108 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 4.2% of Sfmg LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Sfmg LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $51,823,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Generate Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in Apple by 24.2% during the second quarter. Generate Investment Management Ltd now owns 255,335 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $53,779,000 after buying an additional 49,673 shares during the period. Allegheny Financial Group LTD boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 10.8% during the second quarter. Allegheny Financial Group LTD now owns 80,060 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $16,862,000 after purchasing an additional 7,799 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 2.2% during the second quarter. Johnson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,234 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $681,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 91.1% during the second quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. now owns 22,152 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,666,000 after purchasing an additional 10,561 shares during the period. Finally, Autumn Glory Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 2.2% during the second quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC now owns 13,833 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,914,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 20th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Loop Capital lowered shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Maxim Group upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $242.52.

Apple Trading Up 1.3 %

Apple stock opened at $244.60 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $240.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $231.41. The firm has a market cap of $3.67 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. Analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.87%.

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.