Aljian Capital Management LLC Reduces Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Aljian Capital Management LLC decreased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 298,793 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 9,560 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 13.5% of Aljian Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Aljian Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $61,303,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First National Bank of Hutchinson boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,845,000 after buying an additional 6,982 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,544,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $134,554,000 after acquiring an additional 69,207 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $16,742,000 after purchasing an additional 2,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE increased its stake in shares of Apple by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $12,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,155 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. DZ Bank upgraded Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. TD Cowen increased their price target on Apple from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $300.00 price objective on Apple and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.22.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $35,181,866.93. This trade represents a 23.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total transaction of $33,375,798.03. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $842,412,558.95. The trade was a 3.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 228,052 shares of company stock worth $58,604,588. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $283.10 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $4.18 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.96, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $283.42. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $263.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $232.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $102.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.65 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The firm’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.64 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

About Apple

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.