Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC Sells 778 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC lowered its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 155,165 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 778 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 4.6% of Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $31,835,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Burkett Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 14,401 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,199,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 28.3% during the first quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,211 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $935,000 after buying an additional 930 shares in the last quarter. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 0.4% during the first quarter. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 62,001 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,772,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. American National Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 195,482 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $40,107,000 after acquiring an additional 4,543 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Andina Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 209.2% during the 1st quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC now owns 6,786 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,507,000 after acquiring an additional 4,591 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total transaction of $12,101,228.75. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 179,158 shares in the company, valued at $46,005,982.82. The trade was a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,181,866.93. The trade was a 23.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 254,922 shares of company stock worth $64,320,190. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $247.45 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $3.67 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s fifty day moving average is $240.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $216.66. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AAPL. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $240.00 price objective (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, August 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, September 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $290.00 price objective for the company. Wedbush set a $310.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Phillip Securities cut shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $266.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.