Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Horizon Financial Services LLC

Horizon Financial Services LLC decreased its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,845 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 380 shares during the quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $810,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Granite Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC now owns 289,421 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $60,958,000 after buying an additional 7,606 shares in the last quarter. Bellwether Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 387.3% in the second quarter. Bellwether Advisors LLC now owns 24,349 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,128,000 after acquiring an additional 19,352 shares in the last quarter. Gentry Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the second quarter valued at approximately $876,000. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its holdings in Apple by 0.9% during the second quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 920,737 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $193,926,000 after purchasing an additional 8,028 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WT Asset Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Apple in the second quarter worth approximately $80,057,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Apple from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $273.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.51.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total value of $13,802,497.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 187,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,309,126.60. This trade represents a 24.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.86, for a total value of $13,550,347.80. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $111,148,695.84. The trade was a 10.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 404,040 shares of company stock worth $91,062,512 in the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL opened at $228.22 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $226.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $215.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $237.49. The stock has a market cap of $3.45 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.54, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The business had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 16.45%.

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.