Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Hollencrest Capital Management

Key Points

• Hollencrest Capital Management reduced its stake in Apple Inc. by 3.4%, holding 1,046,750 shares after selling 37,125 shares, which account for 10.1% of its portfolio valued at approximately $232.52 million.
• Apple's recent quarterly earnings exceeded analysts' expectations, reporting $1.57 earnings per share and $94.04 billion in revenue, marking a 9.6% increase year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, with an annualized yield of 0.4%, reflecting its strong financial position and payout ratio of 15.78%.

Hollencrest Capital Management trimmed its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,046,750 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 37,125 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 10.1% of Hollencrest Capital Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Hollencrest Capital Management's holdings in Apple were worth $232,515,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Apple by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $349,532,608,000 after purchasing an additional 49,168,843 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 340,164,913 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $84,999,145,000 after purchasing an additional 6,307,413 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,868,648,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Apple by 13.3% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 104,706,358 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $26,220,566,000 after purchasing an additional 13,137,968 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 25th. BMO Capital Markets restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $217.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $237.37.

Apple Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of AAPL stock traded down $0.42 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $232.14. 39,382,353 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 55,684,536. The business has a 50 day moving average of $215.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $212.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.45 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.23, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.11.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is 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.