Lee Financial Co Sells 46,780 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Lee Financial Co has reduced its holdings in Apple Inc. by 40.0%, owning 70,058 shares worth approximately $15.56 million after selling 46,780 shares during the 1st quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including First National Bank of Hutchinson and Brighton Jones LLC, have increased their holdings in Apple, with significant percentage increases reported during the 4th quarter.
• Apple recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, reflecting a 0.5% yield and a dividend payout ratio of 15.78%.

Lee Financial Co reduced its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 40.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 70,058 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 46,780 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 2.4% of Lee Financial Co's portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Lee Financial Co's holdings in Apple were worth $15,562,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the first quarter valued at about $58,000. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $82,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $240.00 target price (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley set a $240.00 target price on Apple and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays lifted their target price on Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Apple from $190.67 to $205.82 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $240.80.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL stock traded up $4.04 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $234.07. The company had a trading volume of 55,768,555 shares, compared to its average volume of 45,223,864. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.47 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.52, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.11. The firm's fifty day moving average is $221.50 and its 200 day moving average is $212.39. 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 released 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 company had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.40 EPS. The company's revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Apple 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.