Josh Arnold Investment Consultant LLC Cuts Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Josh Arnold Investment Consultant LLC lowered its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 344,919 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,915 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 65.7% of Josh Arnold Investment Consultant LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Josh Arnold Investment Consultant LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $80,366,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Bull Oak Capital LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 252.3% in the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Apple in the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its position in shares of Apple by 88.9% in the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at about $77,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the third quarter valued at about $110,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on AAPL. Maxim Group raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Raymond James lifted their price target on Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 20th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $325.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $242.52.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL stock opened at $227.63 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The company has a market cap of $3.42 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.20. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $241.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $230.97.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

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.