Apple Inc. $AAPL Stake Reduced by Fulcrum Equity Management

Fulcrum Equity Management cut its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 33.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,370 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,165 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 0.9% of Fulcrum Equity Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Fulcrum Equity Management’s holdings in Apple were worth $897,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ryan Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the second quarter valued at $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC grew its position in Apple by 1,800.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC increased its stake in Apple by 333.3% during the 2nd 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. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Apple during the 1st quarter valued at about $58,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $65,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.39, for a total transaction of $1,038,790.61. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,168,373.35. The trade was a 32.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 228,052 shares of company stock valued at $58,604,588 over the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL opened at $274.11 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $4.05 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $268.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $237.81. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $288.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%.Apple’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.64 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AAPL. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Apple from $298.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Apple from $270.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, CLSA upped their price objective on Apple from $265.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.