Iron Gate Global Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Iron Gate Global Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 0.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 294,699 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,531 shares during the period. Apple makes up 9.0% of Iron Gate Global Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Iron Gate Global Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $65,461,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Burkett Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.6% during the first quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 14,401 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,199,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 28.3% during the first quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,211 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $935,000 after purchasing an additional 930 shares during the last quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,332 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,337,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Andina Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 209.2% during the first quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC now owns 6,786 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,507,000 after purchasing an additional 4,591 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $234.07 on Monday. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $221.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $212.02. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The firm has a market cap of $3.47 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.11.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. Apple's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a $0.26 dividend. 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AAPL. Phillip Securities cut shares of Apple from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday. Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 21st. HSBC set a $220.00 target price on shares of Apple and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $240.00 target price on shares of Apple and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $240.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 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 SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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.

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