Wealth Alliance Trims Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Wealth Alliance reduced its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 364,512 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 15,488 shares during the period. Apple comprises 9.9% of Wealth Alliance’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Wealth Alliance’s holdings in Apple were worth $76,774,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 17.9% in the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 31,278 shares during the last quarter. Access Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Apple in the first quarter valued at approximately $140,000. Hoese & Co LLP boosted its holdings in Apple by 6.7% in the second quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 912 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $175,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Sage Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Apple in the second quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Finally, Benchmark Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Apple in the second quarter valued at approximately $208,000. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Trading Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $223.45 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.40 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.75, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $226.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $213.44. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $237.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.52 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Raymond James upped their target price on Apple from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com cut Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Loop Capital cut their price target on Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group cut Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $205.00 to $212.92 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt restated a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, September 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.51.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total transaction of $1,121,037.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 24,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,223,062.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,730 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.86, for a total transaction of $13,550,347.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $111,148,695.84. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total value of $1,121,037.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 24,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,223,062.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 417,924 shares of company stock valued at $94,142,399 in the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.