Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Melfa Wealth Management Inc.

Melfa Wealth Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 17.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,149 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 4,250 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 2.6% of Melfa Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Melfa Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $4,134,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ryan Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth about $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% during 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. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the first quarter worth about $58,000. Finally, HFM Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the first quarter worth about $99,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $252.29 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 company has a market cap of $3.74 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.28, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $241.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $216.81. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.40 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,168,373.35. This represents a 32.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the company’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 value 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 259,121 shares of company stock valued at $65,358,981. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Seaport Res Ptn raised Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Phillip Securities cut Apple from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating and set a $200.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Evercore ISI set a $290.00 price target on Apple and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Four investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average 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.