Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Howard Financial Services LTD.

Key Points

• Howard Financial Services LTD. reduced its stake in Apple by 1.8%, now holding 132,520 shares valued at approximately $27.19 million, making Apple the 10th largest holding in its portfolio.
• Recently, several institutions notably increased their holdings in Apple, with ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raising its stake by 1,800% to 190 shares, while numerous others made new positions, indicating continued interest in the stock.
• Apple reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.57, exceeding expectations and generating revenue of $94.04 billion, up 9.6% from the same quarter last year.

Howard Financial Services LTD. trimmed its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 132,520 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 2,452 shares during the period. Apple comprises 3.6% of Howard Financial Services LTD.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Howard Financial Services LTD.'s holdings in Apple were worth $27,189,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% during the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter worth approximately $58,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $65,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock opened at $238.15 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $222.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $212.17. The company has a market capitalization of $3.53 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.14, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.11. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.Apple's revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.40 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $266.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Phillip Securities downgraded Apple from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Apple in a research note on Monday. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $290.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Apple from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities raised their price objective on Apple from $223.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $241.77.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AAPL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report).

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.