EFG Asset Management Americas Corp. Trims Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

EFG Asset Management Americas Corp. cut its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,325 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 6,477 shares during the period. Apple makes up 1.9% of EFG Asset Management Americas Corp.’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. EFG Asset Management Americas Corp.’s holdings in Apple were worth $10,530,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ryan Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Apple in the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC boosted its position in Apple by 1,800.0% during the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Nexus Investment Management ULC grew its holdings in Apple by 333.3% in the 2nd quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter worth $65,000. Finally, Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the first quarter valued at about $58,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock opened at $277.18 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.10 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.11, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $266.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $235.60. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $288.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.11. Apple had a return on equity of 164.05% and a net margin of 26.92%.The company had revenue of $102.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.65 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th were given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 13.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total transaction of $11,071,116.07. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,181,866.93. This trade represents a 23.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.39, for a total transaction of $1,038,790.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,168,373.35. This trade represents a 32.39% 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 worth $58,604,588 over the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Wall Street Zen cut Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 9th. CLSA increased their price objective on Apple from $265.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Wedbush set a $350.00 target price on Apple and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $325.00 target price on Apple in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $203.07 to $246.99 in a report on Friday, October 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned 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 $282.51.

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.