Denali Advisors LLC Reduces Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Denali Advisors LLC has reduced its holdings in Apple Inc. by 0.7%, now owning approximately 159,592 shares valued at $35.45 million, making Apple its second largest investment.
• Insider Deirdre O'Brien sold 34,821 shares of Apple, representing a 20.3% decrease in her position, with transactions valued at approximately $7.77 million.
• Apple recently reported a quarterly EPS of $1.57, surpassing analyst estimates, with revenues of $94.04 billion, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 9.6%.

Denali Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 0.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 159,592 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,077 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 4.0% of Denali Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Denali Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $35,450,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter worth $1,877,000. First National Bank of Hutchinson lifted its stake in Apple by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $8,845,000 after purchasing an additional 6,982 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $13,544,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $134,554,000 after buying an additional 69,207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $16,742,000 after buying an additional 2,695 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Up 3.2%

AAPL stock traded up $7.30 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $237.02. The company had a trading volume of 40,885,420 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,657,605. 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.52 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $216.99 and a 200 day moving average of $212.75. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month 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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.40 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $240.00 price objective (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $237.73.

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.