Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. Buys 4,146 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Apple Inc. by 47.6%, acquiring an additional 4,146 shares during the second quarter, bringing its total holdings to 12,861 shares valued at $2,639,000.
• Insider selling occurred recently, with SVP Katherine L. Adams and SVP Deirdre O'Brien each selling over 43,000 shares of Apple stock, leading to significant decreases in their ownership positions.
• Apple's quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, reporting $1.57 EPS against a consensus estimate of $1.43, driven by a revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter.

Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 47.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,861 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 4,146 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 2.0% of Littlejohn Financial Services Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $2,639,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC now owns 13,815 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,260,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Salus Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Salus Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $291,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Sharpepoint LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Sharpepoint LLC now owns 1,523 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $322,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Mission Hills Financial Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Mission Hills Financial Advisory LLC now owns 4,016 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $892,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Redwood Financial Network Corp lifted its position in shares of Apple by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 8,720 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,184,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total value of $12,101,228.75. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 179,158 shares in the company, valued at $46,005,982.82. This trade represents a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 43,013 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total value of $11,071,116.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $35,181,866.93. This represents a 23.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 254,922 shares of company stock worth $64,320,190. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of Apple stock opened at $258.06 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The stock's 50-day moving average is $235.82 and its 200 day moving average is $215.55. The firm has a market cap of $3.83 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.16, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.40 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Moffett Nathanson upgraded Apple from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $225.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Morgan Stanley set a $298.00 price objective on Apple and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Apple in a research report on Monday, September 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $290.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Apple from a "hold" rating to an "underperform" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $205.82 to $205.16 in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $248.29.

About Apple

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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