Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by LongView Wealth Management

Key Points

• LongView Wealth Management reduced its stake in Apple Inc. by 8.5%, having sold 5,391 shares, and now holds approximately $11.8 million in Apple stock.
• Several institutional investors have increased their holdings in Apple, with notable increases from First National Bank of Hutchinson and Brighton Jones LLC, reflecting growing confidence in the stock.
• Analysts are optimistic about Apple, with Tigress Financial raising its price target to $305, while the overall consensus rating for Apple remains a "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $245.66.

LongView Wealth Management lessened its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 57,727 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 5,391 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 3.6% of LongView Wealth Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. LongView Wealth Management's holdings in Apple were worth $11,844,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. First National Bank of Hutchinson grew its holdings in Apple by 24.6% during the fourth 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 period. Eagle Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $13,544,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $134,554,000 after purchasing an additional 69,207 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $16,742,000 after purchasing an additional 2,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE raised its position in Apple by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $12,587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,155 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Evercore ISI set a $290.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Moffett Nathanson upgraded shares of Apple from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $225.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $245.66.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $255.46 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $228.87 and a 200-day moving average of $213.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.79 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.11. 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 twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. Apple's revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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 dividend on an annualized basis 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.

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