Cascade Investment Group Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Cascade Investment Group Inc. lowered its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 29,524 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 237 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 4.2% of Cascade Investment Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Cascade Investment Group Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $6,057,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ryan Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Apple in the second quarter valued at $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its stake in Apple by 1,800.0% in the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Apple during the first quarter valued at about $58,000. Finally, HFM Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the first quarter valued at about $99,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total value of $11,071,116.07. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $35,181,866.93. The trade was a 23.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $842,412,558.95. This trade 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 90 days, insiders have sold 259,121 shares of company stock valued at $65,358,981. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock opened at $270.14 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $250.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $223.70. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $277.32. 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 company has a market cap of $4.01 trillion, a PE ratio of 40.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.08.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.11. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The firm had revenue of $102.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.65 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.64 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. 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 payout ratio is 13.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AAPL. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on shares of Apple from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 target price (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $300.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.22.

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.