Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC Sells 6,039 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC reduced its stake in Apple Inc. by 4.6%, selling 6,039 shares, and now holds 126,191 shares valued at approximately $28 million.
• Multiple institutional investors have recently acquired stakes in Apple, with 67.73% of the stock currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
• Apple recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, representing a yield of 0.4% and a payout ratio of 15.78%.

Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 4.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 126,191 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 6,039 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 4.8% of Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $28,031,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. Elite Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter valued at $58,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $82,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $147,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Down 0.0%

Apple stock traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $239.69. 54,829,143 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 47,688,568. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The business has a fifty day moving average of $219.28 and a 200 day moving average of $212.64. The firm has a market cap of $3.56 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.37, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $88.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AAPL. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $240.00 price target (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, August 1st. Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Moffett Nathanson upgraded shares of Apple from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $239.05.

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.