SOL Capital Management CO Has $10.80 Million Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Key Points

• SOL Capital Management CO reduced its stake in Apple Inc. by 7.0%, selling 3,676 shares to hold 48,617 shares valued at approximately $10.8 million.
• Several institutional investors increased their positions in Apple, with GAMMA Investing LLC significantly boosting its stake by 25,934.1% during the first quarter.
• Apple has seen price upgrades from multiple analysts, with Bank of America raising its target price from $240.00 to $250.00 and assigning a "buy" rating.

SOL Capital Management CO cut its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 7.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,617 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 3,676 shares during the period. Apple makes up 1.2% of SOL Capital Management CO's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. SOL Capital Management CO's holdings in Apple were worth $10,799,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,877,000. First National Bank of Hutchinson lifted its stake in Apple by 24.6% in 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 buying an additional 6,982 shares in the last quarter. Capital & Planning LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 27,298 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $6,836,000 after purchasing an additional 2,647 shares during the period. Eagle Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $13,544,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $134,554,000 after purchasing an additional 69,207 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Loop Capital reduced their price target on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. KeyCorp raised Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group increased their price target on Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered Apple to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $237.60.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL traded down $2.36 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $226.73. 17,466,762 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 57,698,469. The business's 50-day moving average price is $206.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $213.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.36 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. The business 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%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 11th. Apple's payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.