Covey Capital Advisors LLC Sells 1,000 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Covey Capital Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 19.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,187 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 0.9% of Covey Capital Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Covey Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $859,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 573,627.2% during the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 205,692,660 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $39,065,374,000 after purchasing an additional 205,656,808 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the 1st quarter valued at about $17,472,482,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Apple by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,918,365,000 after buying an additional 20,079,472 shares during the period. Amundi grew its stake in Apple by 27.4% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 68,190,569 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $13,870,795,000 after acquiring an additional 14,651,321 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 104,706,358 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $26,220,566,000 after acquiring an additional 13,137,968 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total value of $12,101,228.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,005,982.82. This trade represents a 20.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 3,752 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.23, for a total value of $1,017,654.96. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,095,030.54. This represents a 19.90% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 228,052 shares of company stock worth $58,604,588. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Barclays increased their price target on Apple from $180.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective (up from $245.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $203.07 to $246.99 in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research 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 assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $278.22.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $283.10 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.18 trillion, a PE ratio of 42.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $263.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $232.37. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $283.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87.

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 firm had revenue of $102.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.65 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.64 EPS. Research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio 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.