Apple Inc. $AAPL Position Reduced by Lokken Investment Group LLC

Lokken Investment Group LLC lessened its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 35,315 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 433 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 2.8% of Lokken Investment Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Lokken Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $7,246,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,400,790,809 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $311,157,662,000 after purchasing an additional 5,005,297 shares in the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC raised its stake in Apple by 573,627.2% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Apple by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,918,365,000 after buying an additional 20,079,472 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Apple by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 104,706,358 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $26,220,566,000 after acquiring an additional 13,137,968 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Apple by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 98,099,909 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $21,790,933,000 after acquiring an additional 984,157 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total value of $12,101,228.75. Following the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $842,412,558.95. This represents a 3.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 259,121 shares of company stock valued at $65,358,981. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $269.05 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.99 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.83, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $249.17 and a 200 day moving average of $222.85. 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 Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $277.32.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 EPS 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 business had revenue of $102.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Thursday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 10th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. CLSA upgraded shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, October 5th. Melius increased their price objective on Apple from $290.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $325.00 target price on Apple in a research report on Monday. Finally, Argus set a $325.00 price target on Apple and gave the stock a “buy” rating 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 issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $277.52.

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.