Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD.

Key Points

• Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. reduced its holdings in Apple Inc. by 13.1% during the 2nd quarter, now owning 16,119 shares valued at approximately $3.3 million.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook on Apple's stock, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target of $241.93.
• Apple recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 0.4%.

Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. lessened its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 13.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,119 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 2,439 shares during the period. Apple comprises 0.8% of Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD.'s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD.'s holdings in Apple were worth $3,307,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Apple by 0.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,400,790,809 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $311,157,662,000 after acquiring an additional 5,005,297 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Apple by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 340,164,913 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $84,999,145,000 after buying an additional 6,307,413 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,868,648,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Apple by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,918,365,000 after buying an additional 20,079,472 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 104,706,358 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $26,220,566,000 after buying an additional 13,137,968 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Apple from $190.67 to $205.82 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $240.00 price target (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Moffett Nathanson upgraded shares of Apple from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $240.00 target price on shares of Apple and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $244.03.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Stock Up 4.0%

AAPL stock traded up $9.70 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $255.20. 34,718,033 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 57,154,422. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.79 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.11. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $224.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $212.10.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.40 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th 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, August 11th. Apple's payout ratio is 15.78%.

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.