Beacon Capital Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Beacon Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 51,514 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 541 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 1.7% of Beacon Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Beacon Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $12,900,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. O Connor Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $896,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,654 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,249,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Apple by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,848,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. increased its holdings in Apple by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 3,775 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $945,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Family Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,910 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,235,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AAPL. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Apple from $252.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.85.

Apple Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $196.79 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $219.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $230.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.77 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.96 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. Analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total transaction of $7,950,786.93. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. This represents a 8.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 182,451 shares of company stock worth $40,818,720 in the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.