Sandbox Financial Partners LLC Cuts Stock Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Sandbox Financial Partners LLC reduced its holdings in Apple Inc. by 7.5% during the second quarter, now owning 139,523 shares valued at approximately $28.63 million.
• Apple recently reported stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings, with earnings per share of $1.57 and revenue of $94.04 billion, exceeding consensus estimates.
• The company declared a $0.26 quarterly dividend, providing a 0.4% yield, with a payout ratio of 15.78%.

Sandbox Financial Partners LLC decreased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 139,523 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 11,306 shares during the period. Apple comprises 9.0% of Sandbox Financial Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Sandbox Financial Partners LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $28,626,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. First National Bank of Hutchinson increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 24.6% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 14.8% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 4.2% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.4% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Up 4.3%

Shares of AAPL stock traded up $10.58 on Monday, hitting $256.08. The stock had a trading volume of 105,286,841 shares, compared to its average volume of 53,632,036. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The firm has a market cap of $3.80 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.86, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.11. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $224.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $212.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion during 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%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.40 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were given a $0.26 dividend. 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 currently 15.78%.

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 shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Apple from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson raised shares of Apple from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, September 4th. 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 given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $244.03.

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.