Exchange Bank Sells 776 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Exchange Bank lowered its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 26,811 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 776 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 4.4% of Exchange Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Exchange Bank’s holdings in Apple were worth $5,501,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AAPL. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquired a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Apple in the first quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Finally, HFM Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the 1st quarter worth approximately $99,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 this link. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock opened at $256.08 on Tuesday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $3.80 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $225.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $212.22.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. The firm 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%.The firm’s revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.40 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were given 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 dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Wedbush set a $310.00 target price on shares of Apple and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Melius Research set a $290.00 price target on shares of Apple and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 price objective (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their target price on Apple from $300.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Two research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $244.03.

Apple Company 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.