Apple Inc. $AAPL Stake Trimmed by Clean Yield Group

Key Points

• Clean Yield Group has reduced its stake in Apple Inc. by 3.7%, now holding 102,648 shares valued at approximately $21 million, making it the firm's largest investment.
• Several other hedge funds have increased their stakes in Apple, with First National Bank of Hutchinson boosting its ownership by 24.6%.
• Apple's stock opened at $249.34, and the company recently reported earnings of $1.57 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations.

Clean Yield Group reduced its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 102,648 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 3,897 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 6.3% of Clean Yield Group's holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Clean Yield Group's holdings in Apple were worth $21,060,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First National Bank of Hutchinson boosted its stake in Apple by 24.6% in 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 acquiring an additional 6,982 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $134,554,000 after acquiring an additional 69,207 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $16,742,000 after acquiring an additional 2,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE boosted its stake in Apple by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $12,587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,155 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Wedbush set a $310.00 price target on shares of Apple and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, September 8th. Finally, HSBC set a $220.00 price target on shares of Apple and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $248.29.

Apple Stock Up 0.6%

AAPL opened at $249.34 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $240.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $216.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.70 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.84, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.40 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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 $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 payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total transaction of $12,101,228.75. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 179,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at $46,005,982.82. The trade was a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total transaction of $33,375,798.03. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $842,412,558.95. This represents a 3.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 254,922 shares of company stock valued at $64,320,190. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Company 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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