Narwhal Capital Management Sells 2,365 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Narwhal Capital Management reduced its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 274,968 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,365 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 4.5% of Narwhal Capital Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Narwhal Capital Management’s holdings in Apple were worth $56,415,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Salus Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Apple by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Salus Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Red Tortoise LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.9% during the second quarter. Red Tortoise LLC now owns 5,717 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,173,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. SigFig Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.8% during the second quarter. SigFig Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,830 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $368,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Shariaportfolio Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.3% during the second quarter. Shariaportfolio Inc. now owns 3,999 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $820,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sharpepoint LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.5% during the first quarter. Sharpepoint LLC now owns 1,523 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $322,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total transaction of $33,375,798.03. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $842,412,558.95. This trade represents a 3.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 23.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 259,121 shares of company stock valued at $65,358,981 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $270.37 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $277.32. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $248.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $222.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.01 trillion, a PE ratio of 41.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.11. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The company had revenue of $102.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AAPL. Barclays raised their price target on Apple from $180.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday. Melius Research set a $345.00 price target on Apple in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Apple from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Loop Capital raised Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $226.00 to $315.00 in a report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and set a $315.00 price target (up previously from $245.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $276.39.

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.