HMS Capital Management LLC Sells 293 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

HMS Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,900 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 293 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 1.5% of HMS Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. HMS Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,262,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its stake in Apple by 1,800.0% in the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. Elite Financial Inc. bought a new position in Apple in the first quarter worth approximately $58,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $63,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $65,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $237.88 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10. 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 firm has a market cap of $3.53 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.10, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.11. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $223.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $212.35.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Phillip Securities downgraded shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $241.93.

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.