Stokes Capital Advisors LLC Sells 2,928 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Stokes Capital Advisors LLC cut its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,186 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,928 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 2.3% of Stokes Capital Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Stokes Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $9,271,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its stake in Apple by 1,800.0% during the first 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 4th quarter valued at approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Apple during the 1st quarter worth approximately $58,000. Finally, HFM Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the 1st quarter worth approximately $99,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on shares of Apple from $223.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Barclays raised their price objective on Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Apple in a report on Monday, September 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $290.00 target price for the company. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price target on Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $244.66.

Apple Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $252.31 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $227.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $212.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The company has a market capitalization of $3.74 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.11.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share 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%. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were given a $0.26 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.78%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.