Saxony Capital Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Saxony Capital Management LLC lessened its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,436 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 659 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 3.1% of Saxony Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Saxony Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,364,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,026,492,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its position in Apple by 14,145.8% during the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 7,612,261 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,603,000 after purchasing an additional 7,558,826 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the second quarter valued at $834,368,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Apple by 6.7% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 51,765,589 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $10,909,457,000 after purchasing an additional 3,245,281 shares during the period. Finally, Tairen Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter worth about $588,952,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock opened at $249.79 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.78 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $234.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $225.06. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $254.28.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 16.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total transaction of $50,275,897.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $736,269,202.80. The trade was a 6.39 % 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 the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 508,170 shares of company stock worth $117,004,745. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Melius Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $265.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $205.00 to $212.92 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Maxim Group boosted their price target on Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Apple to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.78.

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.