Csenge Advisory Group Trims Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Csenge Advisory Group cut its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 173,729 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 3,359 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 1.8% of Csenge Advisory Group’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Csenge Advisory Group’s holdings in Apple were worth $34,893,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Ryan Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the second quarter worth about $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its stake in Apple by 1,800.0% in the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Nexus Investment Management ULC lifted its position in Apple by 333.3% in the second 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 during the last quarter. Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the first quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $65,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 3,752 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.23, for a total transaction of $1,017,654.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,095,030.54. This trade represents a 19.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total transaction 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 $842,412,558.95. This trade represents a 3.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Trading Down 0.7%

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $284.15 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.20 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $265.09 and its 200 day moving average is $233.25. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $288.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted 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 business had revenue of $102.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.65 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 164.05% and a net margin of 26.92%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.64 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on AAPL. Robert W. Baird set a $300.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $203.07 to $246.99 in a research note on Friday, October 31st. UBS Group upped their price target on Apple from $220.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Apple from $298.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average 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.