Strategic Financial Services Inc. Sells 1,708 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Strategic Financial Services Inc. lessened its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 72,974 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,708 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 0.9% of Strategic Financial Services Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position. Strategic Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $16,210,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% during the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the first quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $234.07 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.47 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.11. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $221.50 and a 200 day moving average of $212.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.40 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were paid 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 yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.78%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Barclays raised their target price on Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, HSBC set a $220.00 target price on Apple and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $240.80.

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.