Apple Inc. $AAPL is Liberty Capital Management Inc.’s 2nd Largest Position

Liberty Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 88,540 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,623 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 3.7% of Liberty Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Liberty Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $18,166,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in Apple by 13.0% in the 2nd quarter. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 9,393 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,927,000 after buying an additional 1,081 shares during the period. Powers Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Apple by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC now owns 10,698 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,195,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. FMB Wealth Management increased its position in Apple by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter. FMB Wealth Management now owns 19,592 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,020,000 after buying an additional 2,155 shares in the last quarter. Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 8.4% during the 2nd quarter. Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group LLC now owns 16,353 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,355,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spectrum Strategic Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 17.1% during the 2nd quarter. Spectrum Strategic Capital Management LLC now owns 20,472 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,200,000 after purchasing an additional 2,996 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Moffett Nathanson upgraded Apple from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Wedbush set a $310.00 price target on Apple and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Barclays increased their price target on Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $266.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $248.29.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.39, for a total transaction of $1,038,790.61. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,168,373.35. The trade was a 32.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through 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 value of $11,071,116.07. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,181,866.93. This trade represents a 23.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 259,121 shares of company stock valued at $65,358,981 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Up 2.0%

Apple stock opened at $252.29 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $241.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $216.81. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year 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 $3.74 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.28, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The company had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

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.