Apple Inc. $AAPL Stock Position Lowered by Aviance Capital Partners LLC

Aviance Capital Partners LLC cut its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 265,410 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 3,984 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 7.1% of Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $54,454,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. Ryan Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the second quarter worth $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% in 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 raised its stake in shares of Apple by 333.3% during the second quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the first quarter worth about $58,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total transaction of $12,101,228.75. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total value of $33,375,798.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $842,412,558.95. This trade represents a 3.81% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 228,052 shares of company stock worth $58,604,588. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $286.19 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.23 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.89. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $287.40. The company’s 50-day moving average is $264.45 and its 200 day moving average is $232.89.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.11. Apple had a net margin of 26.92% and a return on equity of 164.05%. The firm had revenue of $102.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect 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 was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. 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 (DPR) is currently 13.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on AAPL. Bank of America upped their price target on Apple from $270.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Melius upped their target price on Apple from $290.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $203.07 to $246.99 in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Three 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $278.53.

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.