Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Brave Asset Management Inc.

Key Points

• Brave Asset Management Inc. has reduced its stake in Apple Inc. by 11.0%, now holding 81,089 shares valued at approximately $16.6 million, making Apple 4.5% of its portfolio.
• Insider sales included SVP Deirdre O'brien selling over 43,000 shares and SVP Katherine L. Adams selling over 47,000 shares, reflecting significant decreases in their ownership positions.
• Apple's stock has reported a 1.6% decline recently, with shares opening at $254.04 and a market cap of $3.77 trillion, while the average analyst target price is $248.29.

Brave Asset Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 11.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 81,089 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 10,043 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 4.5% of Brave Asset Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Brave Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $16,646,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Ryan Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its stake in Apple by 1,800.0% during the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter worth approximately $58,000. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, September 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $290.00 target price for the company. Moffett Nathanson upgraded shares of Apple from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $225.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $248.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 43,013 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total transaction of $11,071,116.07. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,181,866.93. The trade was a 23.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total value of $12,101,228.75. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 179,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at $46,005,982.82. This represents a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 254,922 shares of company stock valued at $64,320,190. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Apple Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $254.04 on Friday. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $236.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $215.77. The company has a market cap of $3.77 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. 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 results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.40 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Apple's payout ratio is currently 15.78%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.