Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Sells 54,218 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lessened its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 62.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,079 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 54,218 shares during the quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Apple were worth $6,967,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $140,000. Hoese & Co LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 6.7% in the second quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 912 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $175,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Sage Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the second quarter valued at $206,000. Benchmark Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Apple in the 2nd quarter worth about $208,000. Finally, SMH Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at about $209,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $228.22 on Friday. 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 stock has a market cap of $3.45 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.24. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $226.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $215.52. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $237.49.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AAPL. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Apple from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Apple from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Apple from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Oppenheimer restated a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Apple to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.51.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,730 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.86, for a total value of $13,550,347.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $111,148,695.84. The trade was a 10.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total value of $50,275,897.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. This represents a 6.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 404,040 shares of company stock worth $91,062,512. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple 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.