Capital Market Strategies LLC Lowers Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Capital Market Strategies LLC has reduced its holdings in Apple Inc. by 7.1%, selling 4,407 shares and retaining a total of 57,805 shares valued at approximately $11.86 million.
• Apple's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $1.57, surpassing analysts' expectations, with a revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 0.4%, with a payout ratio of 15.78%.

Capital Market Strategies LLC decreased its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 57,805 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 4,407 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 8.2% of Capital Market Strategies LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Capital Market Strategies LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $11,860,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC now owns 13,815 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,260,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Salus Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Salus Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Sharpepoint LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Sharpepoint LLC now owns 1,523 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $322,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp boosted its position in shares of Apple by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 8,720 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,184,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mission Hills Financial Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Mission Hills Financial Advisory LLC now owns 4,016 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $892,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $240.00 target price on shares of Apple and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, September 8th. Moffett Nathanson raised shares of Apple from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Apple in a report on Monday, September 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $290.00 price target for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Apple from $190.67 to $205.82 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $242.74.

Apple Stock Up 3.2%

AAPL traded up $7.62 on Friday, hitting $245.50. 163,435,991 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 47,568,860. 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 stock's fifty day moving average is $224.35 and its 200-day moving average is $212.26. The company has a market cap of $3.64 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.25, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.11. 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 posted 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.