Financial Guidance Group Inc. Reduces Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Financial Guidance Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,380 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Apple makes up 2.5% of Financial Guidance Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Financial Guidance Group Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,371,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Parker Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Parker Financial LLC now owns 4,543 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $881,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. MKT Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. MKT Advisors LLC now owns 12,269 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,777,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Professional Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Apple by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Professional Financial Advisors LLC now owns 13,213 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,563,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Aspire Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Apple by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Aspire Capital Advisors LLC now owns 14,076 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,321,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Financial Group LLC raised its position in Apple by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Legacy Financial Group LLC now owns 10,949 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,124,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. 58.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Apple from $180.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 24th. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their target price on Apple from $198.00 to $189.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Apple from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Apple from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, October 9th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $197.82.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 31,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.69, for a total transaction of $5,661,792.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,237,944.09. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 65,536 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.11, for a total transaction of $11,279,400.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,483,548.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 31,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.69, for a total value of $5,661,792.65. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,237,944.09. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 455,004 shares of company stock valued at $79,238,767 in the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $176.65 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $124.17 and a twelve month high of $198.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $176.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $179.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.76 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.69, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.30.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.07. Apple had a return on equity of 164.92% and a net margin of 24.68%. The firm had revenue of $89.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $89.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.29 EPS. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 16th. Investors of record on Monday, November 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 10th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. Apple’s payout ratio is 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.