Cannon Advisors Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Cannon Advisors Inc. lowered its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 24,135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 703 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 4.9% of Cannon Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Cannon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $5,361,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Tallon Kerry Patrick bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $1,877,000. First National Bank of Hutchinson increased its stake in Apple by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,845,000 after acquiring an additional 6,982 shares during the last quarter. Capital & Planning LLC boosted its position in Apple by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 27,298 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,836,000 after buying an additional 2,647 shares during the period. Eagle Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Apple by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,544,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the period. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Apple by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $134,554,000 after buying an additional 69,207 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $230.89 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.43 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $210.28 and a 200 day moving average of $212.94. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on AAPL. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, China Renaissance began coverage on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $241.00 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $237.60.

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.