Advisors Capital Management LLC Has $201.88 Million Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Advisors Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 11.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 908,849 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 115,535 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 3.1% of Advisors Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Advisors Capital Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $201,883,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. First National Bank of Hutchinson boosted its position in shares of Apple by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $8,845,000 after acquiring an additional 6,982 shares during the period. Eagle Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Apple by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $13,544,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Apple by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $134,554,000 after purchasing an additional 69,207 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Apple by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $16,742,000 after purchasing an additional 2,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE raised its stake in shares of Apple by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $12,587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,155 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $234.07 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.47 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.52, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $221.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $212.02.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.40 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Apple from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $190.67 to $205.82 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Barclays upped their price target on Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Melius Research set a $290.00 target price on shares of Apple and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, HSBC set a $220.00 target price on shares of Apple and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $240.80.

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.

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