Fox Hill Wealth Management Lowers Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Fox Hill Wealth Management has reduced its Apple Inc. holdings by 11.3%, selling 5,580 shares, and now owns 43,661 shares valued at approximately $8.96 million.
• Apple reported a better-than-expected quarterly earnings per share of $1.57, surpassing estimates of $1.43, with revenue reaching $94.04 billion, a 9.6% increase year-over-year.
• The firm declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, reflecting a 0.4% annualized yield, with a payout ratio of 15.78%.

Fox Hill Wealth Management cut its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 11.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,661 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 5,580 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 4.6% of Fox Hill Wealth Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Fox Hill Wealth Management's holdings in Apple were worth $8,958,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Veery Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 7.8% during the second quarter. Veery Capital LLC now owns 12,680 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,602,000 after purchasing an additional 918 shares in the last quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. grew its position in Apple by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 3,491 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $715,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 35.1% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 185,477 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $38,546,000 after acquiring an additional 48,140 shares in the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its position in shares of Apple by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 905,523 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $185,786,000 after acquiring an additional 58,411 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verde Capital Management increased its stake in Apple by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Verde Capital Management now owns 6,838 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,403,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Up 4.0%

Shares of AAPL stock traded up $9.71 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $255.21. 36,500,616 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 57,154,422. 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 business's 50-day simple moving average is $224.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $212.10. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.79 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.11.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.40 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the firm'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 of the company's stock, valued at $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $240.00 target price on Apple and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $244.03.

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.