Capital Market Strategies LLC Sells 4,407 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Capital Market Strategies LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 57,805 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 4,407 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 8.2% of Capital Market Strategies LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Capital Market Strategies LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $11,860,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 1,800.0% in the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Apple in the 1st quarter valued at about $58,000. Finally, HFM Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the 1st quarter valued at about $99,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $238.99 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.55 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.11. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $223.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $212.36.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion for 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 business’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.40 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders 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 payout ratio is 15.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value 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 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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Apple from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Barclays lifted their target price on Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $241.93.

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.