Whitener Capital Management Inc. Has $20.91 Million Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Whitener Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 101,951 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 3,151 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 5.5% of Whitener Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Whitener Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $20,909,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. First National Bank of Hutchinson grew its holdings 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 worth $8,845,000 after purchasing an additional 6,982 shares during the period. Eagle Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $13,544,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $134,554,000 after buying an additional 69,207 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Apple by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $16,742,000 after buying an additional 2,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE raised its stake in Apple by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $12,587,000 after buying an additional 1,155 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of Apple 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 price target (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Apple from $300.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on Apple from $223.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Phillip Securities cut Apple from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating and set a $200.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $245.51.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $255.45 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $231.34 and its 200-day moving average is $214.08. The firm has a market cap of $3.79 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.40 EPS. Apple’s revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

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.