Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Trimmed by Compton Wealth Advisory Group LLC

Compton Wealth Advisory Group LLC lowered its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 61,269 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,502 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 4.0% of Compton Wealth Advisory Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Compton Wealth Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $11,884,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Apple by 0.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,269,995,750 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $221,753,959,000 after purchasing an additional 8,734,393 shares in the last quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.3% in the first quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 915,560,382 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $150,975,907,000 after buying an additional 20,424,207 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 116,483.5% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 569,554,722 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $74,002,245,000 after buying an additional 569,066,184 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.9% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 285,171,112 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $46,918,015,000 after buying an additional 2,421,295 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.4% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 234,017,381 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $38,589,468,000 after buying an additional 7,736,013 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 4th. Credit Suisse Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, September 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Apple from $222.00 to $216.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 13th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Apple from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 1st. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $240.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $197.82.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 15,419 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.56, for a total value of $2,753,216.64. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 136,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,363,619.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 240,569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.50, for a total transaction of $41,498,152.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $565,809,142.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 15,419 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.56, for a total transaction of $2,753,216.64. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,363,619.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 455,004 shares of company stock worth $79,238,767. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $176.65 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.76 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.69, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $176.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $179.38. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $124.17 and a 52 week high of $198.23.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.07. Apple had a net margin of 24.68% and a return on equity of 164.92%. The company had revenue of $89.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.29 EPS. Apple’s quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.05 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 16th. Investors of record on Monday, November 13th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 10th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.13%.

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.