North Star Investment Management Corp. Sells 8,608 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

North Star Investment Management Corp. decreased its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 240,401 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 8,608 shares during the period. Apple comprises 3.4% of North Star Investment Management Corp.’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. North Star Investment Management Corp.’s holdings in Apple were worth $49,323,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ryan Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% in the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Elite Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total transaction of $11,071,116.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,181,866.93. The trade was a 23.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total value of $12,101,228.75. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 179,158 shares in the company, valued at $46,005,982.82. This trade represents a 20.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 254,922 shares of company stock worth $64,320,190. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock opened at $256.48 on Wednesday. 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 fifty day moving average price of $234.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $215.25. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.81 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Melius Research set a $290.00 price target on Apple and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Apple in a report on Monday, September 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $290.00 price target on the stock. Wedbush set a $310.00 price target on Apple and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $290.00 price target on Apple and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $247.49.

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.