Carmel Capital Management L.L.C. Trims Stock Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Carmel Capital Management L.L.C. cut its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 55,272 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 140 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 5.0% of Carmel Capital Management L.L.C.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Carmel Capital Management L.L.C.’s holdings in Apple were worth $12,278,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $96,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $226.01 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $211.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $213.15. The company has a market cap of $3.35 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.16. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Barclays lifted their price target on Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $217.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently 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.