Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC Reduces Stock Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC lowered its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 152,774 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 3,474 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 7.9% of Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $31,345,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,005,982.82. This represents a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 228,052 shares of company stock worth $58,604,588. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Melius Research set a $345.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Bank of America lifted their price target on Apple from $270.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Wedbush set a $350.00 price objective on Apple and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. DA Davidson upped their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, October 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $282.06.

Apple Stock Down 0.3%

Apple stock opened at $277.89 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $288.62. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $266.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $235.02. The company has a market capitalization of $4.11 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $1.64 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Investors 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 payout ratio is 13.92%.

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.