Brookstone Capital Management Sells 7,075 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Brookstone Capital Management lessened its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 574,673 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 7,075 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 1.5% of Brookstone Capital Management’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Brookstone Capital Management’s holdings in Apple were worth $117,906,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Ryan Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% during 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 period. Nexus Investment Management ULC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 333.3% in the 2nd quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Elite Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter worth about $58,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $65,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 3,752 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.23, for a total value of $1,017,654.96. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,095,030.54. This trade represents a 19.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,181,866.93. This represents a 23.94% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 228,052 shares of company stock valued at $58,604,588 over the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Apple Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of AAPL opened at $271.49 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $259.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $228.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.01 trillion, a PE ratio of 41.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-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.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.65 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th were paid 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 of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is 13.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on AAPL shares. CLSA upgraded shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, October 5th. Argus set a $325.00 target price on Apple and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Melius Research set a $345.00 price target on Apple in a report on Friday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, October 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.