SJS Investment Consulting Inc. Sells 5,061 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• SJS Investment Consulting cut its Apple stake by 7.1% in the first quarter, selling 5,061 shares and leaving it with 66,401 shares valued at about $16.85 million.
• Apple reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.01 beating estimates and revenue of $111.18 billion topping forecasts, while revenue rose 16.6% year over year.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share and continues to attract mostly bullish Wall Street views, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price near $314.85.

SJS Investment Consulting Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 7.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 66,401 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 5,061 shares during the period. Apple makes up 2.1% of SJS Investment Consulting Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. SJS Investment Consulting Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $16,852,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Apple by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 107,100 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $27,181,000 after acquiring an additional 3,618 shares during the period. McMillan Office Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. McMillan Office Inc. now owns 345,591 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $87,708,000 after purchasing an additional 1,352 shares during the last quarter. Marmo Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 4.2% in the first quarter. Marmo Financial Group LLC now owns 2,065 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $524,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. increased its stake in Apple by 26.2% in the 1st quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 2,325 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $590,000 after buying an additional 482 shares during the period. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 1.7% during the first quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 31,360 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $7,959,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Trading Up 0.9%

AAPL stock opened at $316.16 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $298.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $274.97. The company has a market cap of $4.64 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.23, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $201.50 and a 52 week high of $317.40.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The company's revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.65 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AAPL. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, June 5th. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $310.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. KGI Securities cut shares of Apple from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $315.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on shares of Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $314.85.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $421,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,675,650. This trade represents a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total transaction of $369,460.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,226,770. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,924 shares of company stock valued at $825,546. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple announced a multiyear partnership with Broadcom worth more than $30 billion to design and produce U.S.-made custom silicon and wireless chips, its largest domestic manufacturing commitment to date. The deal improves supply-chain resiliency and supports future product cycles. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan said Apple’s recent price increases for Mac and iPad, and any possible iPhone hikes, are unlikely to significantly hurt demand, and it raised its price target while reiterating a Buy rating. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: UBS said App Store data points to roughly 3% growth in Apple’s June quarter, signaling that services revenue remains resilient even as U.S. revenue softens somewhat. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several pieces framed Apple as a potential leader in a broader “Magnificent Seven” rebound, but these were mostly market commentary rather than company-specific catalysts. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: An EU court rejected Apple’s challenge to Digital Markets Act gatekeeper rules, leaving the company exposed to tighter App Store and iOS antitrust obligations in Europe. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Hedgeye reportedly added Apple as a new short idea, which may be adding some caution around the stock’s near-term valuation after a strong run. Article Title

About Apple

Apple Inc NASDAQ: AAPL is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple's principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.

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