Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC Cuts Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC trimmed its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 405,162 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 5,411 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 4.1% of Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $89,999,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,868,648,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Apple by 25,934.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 60,066,398 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $133,425,490,000 after buying an additional 59,835,676 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Apple by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $349,532,608,000 after buying an additional 49,168,843 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Apple by 23,555.4% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 21,055,240 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $5,272,653,000 after buying an additional 20,966,232 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Apple by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,918,365,000 after purchasing an additional 20,079,472 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of Apple stock traded down $2.06 on Friday, hitting $230.73. 31,276,517 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 57,842,020. The stock has a market cap of $3.42 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.01, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The firm's 50-day moving average is $209.13 and its 200 day moving average is $213.37. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 15.78%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AAPL. Loop Capital lowered their price target on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $217.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $237.60.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.