Morningstar Investment Services LLC Sells 1,155 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Morningstar Investment Services LLC reduced its holdings in Apple Inc. by 29.6%, ending the first quarter with 2,744 shares valued at $610,000.
• Apple reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.57, exceeding the consensus estimate of $1.43, and achieved a revenue of $94.04 billion, an increase of 9.6% from the previous year.
• Several institutional investors increased their stakes in Apple during the fourth quarter, with Vanguard Group Inc. now holding approximately 1.4 billion shares valued at about $349.5 billion, representing a 3.7% increase.

Morningstar Investment Services LLC cut its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 29.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,744 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,155 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Services LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $610,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,877,000. First National Bank of Hutchinson boosted its stake in Apple by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $8,845,000 after purchasing an additional 6,982 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $13,544,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $134,554,000 after purchasing an additional 69,207 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $16,742,000 after purchasing an additional 2,695 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $7.30 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $237.02. The company had a trading volume of 40,885,420 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,657,605. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market cap of $3.52 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.97, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.11. The company's 50-day moving average price is $216.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $212.75. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $88.64 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. Apple's revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. 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 payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president 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 SEC, which is available through this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Loop Capital cut their target price on Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Barclays boosted their target price on Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $217.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple 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, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $237.73.

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.