Apple Inc. $AAPL Position Lessened by Rainier Family Wealth Inc.

Rainier Family Wealth Inc. lessened its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,168 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 84 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 4.0% of Rainier Family Wealth Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Rainier Family Wealth Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,369,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Apple during the first quarter valued at about $58,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $63,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of Apple 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research reports. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Morgan Stanley set a $240.00 price target on Apple and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on Apple from $223.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Apple in a research report on Monday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $290.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $240.00 price objective (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $241.77.

Apple Stock Up 0.6%

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $238.15 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.53 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.14, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.11. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The business’s 50-day moving average is $222.59 and its 200 day moving average is $212.17.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.78%.

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.