LCM Capital Management Inc Sells 1,336 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• LCM Capital Management Inc reduced its stake in Apple Inc. by 2.9% during the second quarter, now holding 45,479 shares valued at approximately $9.33 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Lewis Asset Management LLC and Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc., increased their stakes in Apple during the same period, indicating sustained interest in the company's stock.
• Apple's recent quarterly earnings showed $1.57 earnings per share, surpassing analyst expectations, and the company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share.

LCM Capital Management Inc reduced its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,479 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,336 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 4.8% of LCM Capital Management Inc's holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. LCM Capital Management Inc's holdings in Apple were worth $9,331,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its holdings in Apple by 1.1% in the second quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 456,368 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $93,633,000 after purchasing an additional 5,086 shares during the period. Narus Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in Apple by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC now owns 18,599 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,816,000 after buying an additional 923 shares during the last quarter. Rooted Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Apple by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter. Rooted Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 15,160 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,201,000 after buying an additional 1,675 shares in the last quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Apple by 32.9% in the second quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC now owns 52,145 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $10,699,000 after purchasing an additional 12,923 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Southland Equity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 0.4% in the second quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 125,857 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $25,822,000 after acquiring an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Up 0.3%

AAPL opened at $255.45 on Thursday. The company's 50-day moving average is $231.34 and its 200 day moving average is $214.08. 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 capitalization of $3.79 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The business had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $88.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.40 EPS. The business's revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, September 8th. HSBC set a $220.00 price objective on Apple and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Apple from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $190.67 to $205.82 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $245.51.

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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