Apple Inc. $AAPL Position Lowered by Range Financial Group LLC

Key Points

• Range Financial Group LLC has reduced its holdings in Apple Inc. by 18.6% in the second quarter, now holding 7,059 shares worth $1,448,000.
• Apple reported a better-than-expected earnings of $1.57 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates and generating $94.04 billion in revenues.
• The company’s dividend yield is currently at 0.4%, with a recent quarterly dividend payout of $0.26 per share.

Range Financial Group LLC trimmed its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 18.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 7,059 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,617 shares during the period. Range Financial Group LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $1,448,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Apple by 0.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,400,790,809 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $311,157,662,000 after purchasing an additional 5,005,297 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Apple by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 340,164,913 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $84,999,145,000 after buying an additional 6,307,413 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $46,868,648,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Apple by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,918,365,000 after buying an additional 20,079,472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 104,706,358 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $26,220,566,000 after purchasing an additional 13,137,968 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Trading Up 4.3%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded up $10.58 during trading on Monday, hitting $256.08. 105,286,841 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 53,632,036. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $224.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $212.10. 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 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.80 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.11.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple's payout ratio is 15.78%.

Insider Activity 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 stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. DA Davidson reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $266.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. HSBC set a $220.00 price objective on Apple and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Melius Research set a $290.00 price objective on Apple and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $244.03.

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.