Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Position Decreased by Atlas Brown Inc.

Atlas Brown Inc. cut its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 75,665 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,349 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 5.7% of Atlas Brown Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Atlas Brown Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $15,936,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc acquired a new position in Apple during the first quarter valued at $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 17.9% in the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 31,278 shares during the period. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. raised its position in shares of Apple by 657.1% in the fourth quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares during the period. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $85,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $247.61 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $239.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total transaction of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total transaction of $1,958,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,469,275. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total transaction of $20,644,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 113,884 shares of company stock valued at $23,723,887. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock opened at $227.37 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $222.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $201.22. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $237.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market cap of $3.49 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 147.15%. The business had revenue of $85.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.26 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.7 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

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.