Courier Capital LLC Cuts Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Courier Capital LLC lowered its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 277,885 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 13,973 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 4.8% of Courier Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Courier Capital LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $69,588,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Bull Oak Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 252.3% during the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new position in shares of Apple during the third quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its stake in shares of Apple by 88.9% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new position in shares of Apple during the third quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Down 0.1 %

AAPL opened at $245.55 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.69 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a 50 day moving average of $240.47 and a 200-day moving average of $232.72.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. KeyCorp restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $244.85.

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.