IMS Capital Management Sells 2,645 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

IMS Capital Management trimmed its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 61,787 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,645 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 6.3% of IMS Capital Management’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. IMS Capital Management’s holdings in Apple were worth $13,995,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Apple by 17.9% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the 1st quarter worth approximately $140,000. Hoese & Co LLP boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 912 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $175,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, Sage Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the second quarter worth $206,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $225.00 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.40 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.24. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $237.49. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $227.04 and a 200-day moving average of $215.96. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $94.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total transaction of $13,802,497.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 187,043 shares in the company, valued at $42,309,126.60. The trade was a 24.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,730 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.86, for a total value of $13,550,347.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $111,148,695.84. This represents a 10.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 404,040 shares of company stock worth $91,062,512. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Apple to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Moffett Nathanson initiated coverage on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, August 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $211.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Apple to $236.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.51.

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.