Archer Investment Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Archer Investment Management LLC cut its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 25.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,182 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,420 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 0.6% of Archer Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Archer Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $858,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased 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 worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter worth about $58,000. Finally, HFM Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter worth about $99,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $252.31 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $227.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $212.78. 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 $3.74 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.29, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.11.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Wedbush set a $310.00 price target on Apple and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 price objective (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $244.66.

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.