Aspen Investment Management Inc Lowers Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Aspen Investment Management Inc reduced its stake in Apple Inc. by 7.5%, owning 15,761 shares after selling 1,282 shares, making Apple 1.6% of its portfolio.
• Vanguard Group increased its stake by 0.4%, holding over 1.4 billion shares valued at approximately $311 billion, reflecting strong institutional interest.
• Apple's recent performance saw a quarterly EPS of $1.57, surpassing estimates, with revenue of $94.04 billion, marking a 9.6% year-over-year increase.

Aspen Investment Management Inc lowered its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 7.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,761 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,282 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 1.6% of Aspen Investment Management Inc's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Aspen Investment Management Inc's holdings in Apple were worth $3,501,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% during the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the first quarter worth approximately $58,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $63,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $65,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of Apple stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $4.04 on Friday, hitting $234.07. 55,768,555 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 45,223,864. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $221.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $212.20. 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 market capitalization of $3.47 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.11.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.40 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. Barclays raised their target price 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. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday. Moffett Nathanson raised shares of Apple from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $223.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $240.80.

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.