Norman Fields Gottscho Capital Management LLC Sells 2,939 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Norman Fields Gottscho Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Apple Inc. by 2.4%, selling 2,939 shares during the second quarter, now holding 121,792 shares valued at approximately $24.98 million.
• Several hedge funds increased their investments in Apple during the fourth quarter, with First National Bank of Hutchinson growing its stake by 24.6% and Brighton Jones LLC increasing by 14.8%.
• Analysts have set varying price targets for Apple, with JPMorgan raising its target to $280.00, while the average target price among analysts stands at $244.03 based on a "Moderate Buy" rating.

Norman Fields Gottscho Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 121,792 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 2,939 shares during the period. Apple makes up 8.3% of Norman Fields Gottscho Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Norman Fields Gottscho Capital Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $24,988,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First National Bank of Hutchinson grew 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 grew 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 grew 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. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew 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. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE grew its stake in Apple by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $12,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,155 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on AAPL. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Apple in a research note on Monday, September 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $290.00 price target on the stock. 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. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $240.00 target price (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Barclays upped 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $240.00 target price on Apple and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $244.03.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Apple Trading Up 4.3%

AAPL opened at $256.08 on Tuesday. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.80 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.86, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.11. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $225.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $212.22.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $88.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

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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