Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust

Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust decreased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 14.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,639 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 965 shares during the period. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,157,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AAPL. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 14.9% during the 2nd quarter. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 76,654 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $15,727,000 after acquiring an additional 9,969 shares during the period. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Apple by 10.6% during the second quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,195 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,528,000 after purchasing an additional 1,649 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors grew its holdings in Apple by 14.9% in the second quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 707,040 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $145,064,000 after purchasing an additional 91,508 shares during the period. McMill Wealth Management grew its holdings in Apple by 1.8% in the second quarter. McMill Wealth Management now owns 4,747 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $952,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 1.2% in the second quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 774,337 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $158,871,000 after buying an additional 9,194 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.39, for a total transaction of $1,038,790.61. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 8,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,168,373.35. The trade was a 32.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 228,052 shares of company stock worth $58,604,588 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $278.63 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company has a 50-day moving average of $263.27 and a 200 day moving average of $231.72. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $280.38. The stock has a market cap of $4.12 trillion, a PE ratio of 42.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $101.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $315.00 target price (up previously from $245.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday. Phillip Securities cut shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating and set a $200.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Moffett Nathanson upgraded Apple from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Three 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.