Carderock Capital Management Inc. Trims Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Carderock Capital Management Inc. has reduced its stake in Apple Inc. by 16.3%, now holding 44,256 shares, worth approximately $9.08 million.
• Notable research analysts have recently set new price targets for Apple, with Sanford C. Bernstein and Evercore ISI both providing an "outperform" rating and a target price of $290.00.
• Apple declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, representing an annual yield of 0.4%, while maintaining a dividend payout ratio of 15.78%.

Carderock Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 16.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,256 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 8,643 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 2.3% of Carderock Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Carderock Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $9,080,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Burkett Financial Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 14,401 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,199,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 28.3% during the 1st quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,211 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $935,000 after acquiring an additional 930 shares during the last quarter. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the first quarter. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 62,001 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $13,772,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,332 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,337,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Andina Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Apple by 209.2% in the first quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC now owns 6,786 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,507,000 after buying an additional 4,591 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Apple in a research report on Monday, September 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $290.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $240.00 target price on Apple and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on Apple from $223.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Evercore ISI set a $290.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $245.66.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Apple Trading Down 0.5%

AAPL opened at $255.46 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The firm's 50 day moving average is $228.87 and its 200-day moving average is $213.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.79 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.11.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. 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 quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.40 EPS. Analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

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.

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