Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV Has $6.47 Million Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV lowered its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 11.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,512 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 3,908 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 2.3% of Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV’s holdings in Apple were worth $6,465,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ryan Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Apple in the second quarter worth $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Elite Financial Inc. bought a new position in Apple in the first quarter worth $58,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $63,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 0.3%

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $258.02 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week 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 stock has a market capitalization of $3.83 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.09. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $233.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $214.69.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. The firm 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. 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 payout ratio is 15.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total transaction of $12,101,228.75. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,005,982.82. The trade was a 20.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total value of $33,375,798.03. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at $842,412,558.95. The trade was a 3.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 254,922 shares of company stock valued at $64,320,190. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on AAPL. Melius Research set a $290.00 target price on Apple and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Wedbush set a $310.00 price objective on Apple and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. HSBC set a $220.00 price objective on Apple and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $247.49.

Apple Company 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.