Howard Financial Services LTD. Sells 650 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Howard Financial Services LTD. cut its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 133,404 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 650 shares during the period. Apple makes up 4.5% of Howard Financial Services LTD.’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Howard Financial Services LTD.’s holdings in Apple were worth $31,083,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gill Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Apple by 1.4% in the third quarter. Gill Capital Partners LLC now owns 12,335 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,874,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the period. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. raised its holdings in Apple by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. now owns 113,938 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $26,547,000 after buying an additional 4,503 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Apple by 1.5% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisors LLC now owns 21,556 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,023,000 after buying an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. Rockingstone Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 0.3% during the third quarter. Rockingstone Advisors LLC now owns 24,577 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,726,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Hoxton Planning & Management LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 6.8% during the third quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC now owns 27,661 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,445,000 after acquiring an additional 1,751 shares during the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of Apple stock opened at $232.87 on Tuesday. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $237.49. The business’s fifty day moving average is $228.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $218.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The firm has a market cap of $3.52 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.52 billion. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.46 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AAPL. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. KeyCorp cut shares of Apple from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, October 25th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two equities research 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.25.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total value of $13,802,497.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 187,043 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,309,126.60. This trade represents a 24.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total transaction of $50,275,897.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. This represents a 6.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 408,170 shares of company stock worth $92,007,745. 0.06% of the stock is 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.