Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Vantage Point Financial LLC

Vantage Point Financial LLC cut its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 7.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,429 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,722 shares during the period. Apple makes up 1.9% of Vantage Point Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Vantage Point Financial LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $4,396,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Ryan Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Apple during the second quarter worth about $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Apple during the first quarter worth about $58,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Finally, HFM Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the first quarter worth about $99,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $270.04 on Wednesday. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $249.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $223.37. The company has a market cap of $4.01 trillion, a PE ratio of 40.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $277.32.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $102.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.65 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th will be given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 10th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 13.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Loop Capital raised Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $226.00 to $315.00 in a report on Monday, October 20th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Wall Street Zen raised Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Apple from $298.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, HSBC set a $220.00 target price on Apple and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $278.22.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.39, for a total value of $1,038,790.61. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 8,765 shares in the company, valued at $2,168,373.35. The trade was a 32.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of Apple stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 179,158 shares in the company, valued at $46,005,982.82. This represents a 20.83% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 259,121 shares of company stock worth $65,358,981 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.