Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Avity Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• Avity Investment Management Inc. has reduced its stake in Apple Inc. by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter, making Apple its 2nd largest position at 4.8% of its portfolio, valued at approximately $64.97 million.
• Insider activity shows that SVP Deirdre O'Brien sold 34,821 shares at an average price of $223.20, resulting in a significant decrease in her ownership of the stock.
• Several analysts have increased their price targets for Apple, with Evercore ISI setting a new objective of $260, and Barclays maintaining an "underweight" rating with a target of $180.

Avity Investment Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 316,665 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 19,162 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 4.8% of Avity Investment Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Avity Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $64,970,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. First National Bank of Hutchinson lifted its holdings in Apple by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $8,845,000 after purchasing an additional 6,982 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 0.5% during the 4th 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 holdings in Apple by 14.8% during the 4th 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 holdings in Apple by 4.2% during the 4th 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 lifted its holdings in Apple by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $12,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,155 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Melius Research set a $290.00 price target on shares of Apple and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, September 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $266.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $244.03.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of AAPL traded down $1.32 on Tuesday, reaching $254.76. 30,536,489 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 57,417,355. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $3.78 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $225.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $212.22. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

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