Abacus FCF Advisors LLC Trims Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Abacus FCF Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 54.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 79,349 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 94,961 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 2.3% of Abacus FCF Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $16,280,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ryan Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Apple in the second quarter worth $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Elite Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Apple in the first quarter worth $58,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $63,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $254.43 on Tuesday. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $229.71 and its 200 day moving average is $213.51. The stock has a market cap of $3.78 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.11. 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 (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted 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 business had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $240.00 target price on Apple and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Apple from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $266.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Apple from $190.67 to $205.82 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their target price 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $245.66.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the firm’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 directly owned 136,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.