Front Row Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Front Row Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 136,142 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 3,440 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 9.7% of Front Row Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Front Row Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $27,932,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ryan Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC grew its position in Apple by 1,800.0% during the first 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 position in 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 buying an additional 200 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Finally, Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Apple in the first quarter valued at about $58,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 3,752 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.23, for a total value of $1,017,654.96. Following the transaction, the insider owned 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,095,030.54. This represents a 19.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of Apple stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $842,412,558.95. This represents a 3.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 228,052 shares of company stock valued at $58,604,588. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $278.28 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The company has a market cap of $4.11 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.10. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $288.62. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $268.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $237.03.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 26.92% and a return on equity of 164.05%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.64 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is 13.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AAPL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Moffett Nathanson raised Apple from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Apple from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Apple from $300.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, October 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $282.51.

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.