Deltec Asset Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Deltec Asset Management LLC reduced its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,630 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 64 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 1.0% of Deltec Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. Deltec Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $5,874,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ryan Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Apple in the second quarter worth $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its position in Apple by 1,800.0% in the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $65,000. Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Apple in the first quarter worth $58,000. Finally, HFM Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the first quarter worth $99,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,181,866.93. This represents a 23.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total value of $33,375,798.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $842,412,558.95. The trade was a 3.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 259,121 shares of company stock valued at $65,358,981 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $262.24 on Tuesday. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $264.38. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $241.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $217.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market cap of $3.89 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.79, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 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 business had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $88.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. 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. Morgan Stanley set a $298.00 price target on Apple and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $266.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $251.47.

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.