Cox Capital Mgt LLC Reduces Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Cox Capital Mgt LLC lowered its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,806 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 59 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 2.5% of Cox Capital Mgt LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Cox Capital Mgt LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,958,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Covea Finance lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Covea Finance now owns 535,442 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $134,085,000 after purchasing an additional 62,960 shares during the period. Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc grew its position in shares of Apple by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc now owns 23,123 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,790,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares during the period. Clarus Wealth Advisors lifted its position in Apple by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Clarus Wealth Advisors now owns 37,936 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,892,000 after buying an additional 1,063 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in Apple by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 468,966 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $117,438,000 after buying an additional 67,346 shares during the period. Finally, Kathmere Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 82,903 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $20,761,000 after buying an additional 5,693 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $240.36 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $240.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $233.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market cap of $3.61 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.15, a PEG ratio of 2.44 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 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%. Analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 20th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.88.

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.