Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Wright Investors Service Inc.

Key Points

• Wright Investors Service Inc. reduced its stake in Apple Inc. by 10.0% in Q2, owning 65,809 shares worth approximately $13.5 million after selling 7,345 shares.
• Several hedge funds have adjusted their positions in Apple, with some increasing stakes significantly; for instance, Andina Capital Management LLC grew its stake by 209.2% in Q1.
• Apple's recent earnings report surpassed expectations, with earnings per share of $1.57 and revenue of $94.04 billion, contributing to a consensus target price of $245.66 from analysts.

Wright Investors Service Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 10.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 65,809 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 7,345 shares during the period. Apple makes up 4.1% of Wright Investors Service Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Wright Investors Service Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $13,502,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Burkett Financial Services LLC grew 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 worth $3,199,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Apple by 28.3% during the first quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,211 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $935,000 after buying an additional 930 shares during the last quarter. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Apple by 0.4% during the first quarter. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 62,001 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $13,772,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Apple by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,332 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,337,000 after buying an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Andina Capital Management LLC grew 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 worth $1,507,000 after buying an additional 4,591 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Morgan Stanley set a $240.00 price target on shares of Apple and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Loop Capital decreased their price target 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. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $240.00 price target (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $245.66.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $255.46 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The stock has a market cap of $3.79 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.76, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.11. 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 firm's 50 day moving average price is $228.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $213.22.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $88.64 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a $0.26 dividend. 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 presently 15.78%.

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.

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