Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC Sells 15,814 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC reduced its stake in Apple Inc. by 5.8%, selling 15,814 shares and retaining a total of 257,976 shares, valued at approximately $52.9 million.
• The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing analyst estimates, with total revenue reaching $94.04 billion, a year-over-year increase of 9.6%.
• In recent insider trading, SVP Deirdre O'brien and CEO Timothy D. Cook sold a combined total of 172,976 shares of Apple stock, indicating a decrease in their respective holdings.

Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC trimmed its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 257,976 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 15,814 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 3.1% of Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $52,929,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smith Salley Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Apple by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management now owns 406,816 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $83,466,000 after acquiring an additional 8,355 shares during the period. Addenda Capital Inc. increased its position in shares of Apple by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. now owns 158,901 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $32,602,000 after acquiring an additional 10,819 shares during the period. Camelot Portfolios LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Camelot Portfolios LLC now owns 10,715 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,198,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the period. Wagner Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 26,944 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $5,528,000 after acquiring an additional 1,240 shares during the period. Finally, Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC grew its position in Apple by 12.5% during the 2nd quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC now owns 133,497 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $27,390,000 after purchasing an additional 14,791 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of Apple stock opened at $249.34 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.70 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $240.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $216.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. Apple's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.40 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.78%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 43,013 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,181,866.93. This trade represents a 23.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total transaction of $33,375,798.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at $842,412,558.95. This represents a 3.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 254,922 shares of company stock valued at $64,320,190. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Melius Research set a $290.00 price target on Apple and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Evercore ISI set a $290.00 price target on Apple and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $266.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $248.29.

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.

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