Skyline Advisors Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Skyline Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,194 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 898 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 1.4% of Skyline Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Skyline Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,733,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. First National Bank of Hutchinson lifted its position in Apple by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,845,000 after buying an additional 6,982 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $13,544,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $134,554,000 after buying an additional 69,207 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Apple by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $16,742,000 after purchasing an additional 2,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $12,587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,155 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AAPL. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Apple from $190.67 to $205.82 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Apple in a research report on Monday, September 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $290.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI set a $290.00 price target on Apple and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Moffett Nathanson raised Apple from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 target price (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Two research 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $245.51.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the firm’s 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Apple stock opened at $254.63 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $230.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $213.80. The company has a market cap of $3.78 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.78%.

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.