Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Patriot Investment Management Group Inc.

Patriot Investment Management Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 11.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 39,858 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 5,190 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 0.7% of Patriot Investment Management Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Patriot Investment Management Group Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $8,395,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Financial Council Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Apple by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Financial Council Asset Management Inc now owns 48,571 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $9,351,000 after purchasing an additional 2,151 shares during the period. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $111,000. Ellis Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Ellis Investment Partners LLC now owns 100,100 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $19,272,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 47,229 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $9,093,000 after acquiring an additional 453 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morris Financial Concepts Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Morris Financial Concepts Inc. now owns 6,746 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,299,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $220.82 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.39 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.24. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $237.23. The business’s fifty day moving average is $223.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $197.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 147.15%. The company had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.26 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.55%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $1,958,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,469,275. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total transaction of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at $39,542,136.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total transaction of $1,958,850.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,469,275. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 113,884 shares of company stock valued at $23,723,887. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. KeyCorp reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $247.61 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Apple from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Maxim Group increased their price objective on Apple from $195.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Erste Group Bank upgraded Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $238.62.

Apple Company 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.