Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Hodges Capital Management Inc.

Hodges Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 23.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 60,483 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 18,299 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 1.4% of Hodges Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Hodges Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $13,435,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 1,800.0% in 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 last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Elite Financial Inc. bought a new position in Apple in the first quarter worth about $58,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Evercore ISI lifted 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. Phillip Securities cut Apple from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating and set a $200.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $266.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $240.80.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $236.70 on Tuesday. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The stock has a market cap of $3.51 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.92, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.11. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $222.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $211.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.40 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue 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 fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Apple's payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

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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