Apple Inc. $AAPL Stake Lessened by Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC

Key Points

• Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC has reduced its stake in Apple Inc. by 3.9%, now holding 63,485 shares worth approximately $13 million.
• Apple Inc. reported $1.57 EPS for its recent quarter, exceeding analyst expectations and recording revenue of $94.04 billion, a 9.6% increase year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, representing an annualized yield of 0.4% and a payout ratio of 15.78%.

Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC trimmed its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 63,485 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 2,551 shares during the period. Apple comprises 4.5% of Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $13,025,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Burkett Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 0.6% during the first quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 14,401 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,199,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 28.3% during the 1st quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,211 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $935,000 after acquiring an additional 930 shares in the last quarter. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Apple by 0.4% in the first quarter. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 62,001 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $13,772,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Apple by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,332 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,337,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Andina Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Apple by 209.2% during the first quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC now owns 6,786 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,507,000 after purchasing an additional 4,591 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This 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 can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock traded up $10.58 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $256.08. 105,286,841 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 57,571,816. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $224.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $212.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.80 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.11. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect 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 $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 15.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $266.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley set a $240.00 target price on shares of Apple and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, September 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $290.00 target price on the stock. Moffett Nathanson raised shares of Apple from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Melius Research set a $290.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report 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 given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $244.03.

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.