Marshall Investment Management LLC Sells 3,061 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Marshall Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Apple Inc. by 14.7%, now holding 17,809 shares valued at approximately $3.96 million.
• Recent earnings revealed a better-than-expected performance with Apple reporting $1.57 EPS and a revenue of $94.04 billion, surpassing forecasts.
• Apple announced a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 0.4% and a payout ratio of 15.78%.

Marshall Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 14.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,809 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 3,061 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 2.5% of Marshall Investment Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Marshall Investment Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $3,956,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter valued at $58,000. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $82,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $239.69. 54,829,143 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 47,688,568. 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 market cap of $3.56 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.11. The company's fifty day moving average is $219.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $212.64. 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 issued 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. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion for 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%.The firm's revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.40 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $240.00 price objective (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Evercore ISI restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson upgraded Apple from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $239.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.