JFS Wealth Advisors LLC Decreases Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

JFS Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 115,223 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 6,598 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 1.5% of JFS Wealth Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $23,640,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ryan Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% during the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Elite Financial Inc. bought a new position in Apple in the 1st quarter worth approximately $58,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, HFM Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Apple in the 1st quarter worth approximately $99,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $180.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Argus set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 25th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, CLSA raised shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, October 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $842,412,558.95. This trade represents a 3.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total transaction of $11,071,116.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,181,866.93. The trade was a 23.94% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 259,121 shares of company stock worth $65,358,981 in the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $270.14 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $277.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The company has a market capitalization of $4.01 trillion, a P/E ratio of 40.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a fifty day moving average of $250.78 and a 200-day moving average of $223.70.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The company had revenue of $102.47 billion during 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 firm’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th will be given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.92%.

Apple Company 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.