Sfm LLC Sells 280 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Sfm LLC cut its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,037 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 280 shares during the period. Apple makes up 1.1% of Sfm LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Sfm LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,649,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Salus Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 3.9% during the first quarter. Salus Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Sharpepoint LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 3.5% during the first quarter. Sharpepoint LLC now owns 1,523 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $322,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 8,720 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,184,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Mission Hills Financial Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 1.3% during the first quarter. Mission Hills Financial Advisory LLC now owns 4,016 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $892,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lockerman Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Apple by 0.9% in the first quarter. Lockerman Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,365 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,414,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Up 1.0%

AAPL opened at $247.66 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $238.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $216.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.68 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released 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 firm had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.40 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,005,982.82. The trade was a 20.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was 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 directly owned 136,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,181,866.93. This represents a 23.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 254,922 shares of company stock worth $64,320,190 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Moffett Nathanson upgraded shares of Apple from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Melius Research set a $290.00 target price on shares of Apple and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $223.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 target price (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $248.29.

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.