Syntax Research Inc. Has $5.91 Million Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Syntax Research Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 28,808 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 83 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 4.2% of Syntax Research Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Syntax Research Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $5,911,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 573,627.2% during the 2nd quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 205,692,660 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $39,065,374,000 after buying an additional 205,656,808 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the first quarter valued at about $17,472,482,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 25,934.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 60,066,398 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $133,425,490,000 after acquiring an additional 59,835,676 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Apple by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,918,365,000 after purchasing an additional 20,079,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its stake in shares of Apple by 27.4% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 68,190,569 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $13,870,795,000 after purchasing an additional 14,651,321 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $258.45 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $242.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $218.02. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $265.29. The company has a market capitalization of $3.84 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 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 (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. The company 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 firm’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.40 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.78%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,168,373.35. This trade represents a 32.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total transaction of $33,375,798.03. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $842,412,558.95. This represents a 3.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 259,121 shares of company stock valued at $65,358,981. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Phillip Securities cut shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating and set a $200.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $226.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Apple in a research note on Monday, September 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $290.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Apple from a “moderate sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $252.47.

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.