Sound Income Strategies LLC Cuts Stock Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Sound Income Strategies LLC reduced its holdings in Apple Inc. by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter, now owning 91,699 shares valued at approximately $18.8 million.
• Insider trading reports indicate that both SVP Deirdre O'Brien and CEO Timothy D. Cook sold a significant number of shares, with O'Brien selling 43,013 shares and Cook selling 129,963 shares on the same day.
• Despite recent insider selling, research analysts maintain a generally optimistic outlook, with four analysts rating Apple stock as a "Strong Buy" and a consensus price target of $248.29.

Sound Income Strategies LLC lowered its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 91,699 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 3,273 shares during the period. Apple comprises 1.1% of Sound Income Strategies LLC's holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. Sound Income Strategies LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $18,814,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. First National Bank of Hutchinson boosted its position in Apple by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $8,845,000 after purchasing an additional 6,982 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Apple by 0.5% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Apple by 14.8% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Apple by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $16,742,000 after purchasing an additional 2,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE raised its stake 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 buying an additional 1,155 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 43,013 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total transaction of $11,071,116.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $35,181,866.93. The trade was a 23.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total value of $33,375,798.03. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $842,412,558.95. The trade was a 3.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 254,922 shares of company stock worth $64,320,190 over the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $249.34 on Thursday. 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 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The firm has a market cap of $3.70 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.84, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.09. The business's fifty day moving average is $240.12 and its 200 day moving average is $216.49.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted 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 business 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 business earned $1.40 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of several research reports. Wedbush set a $310.00 target price on Apple and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. BMO Capital Markets restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Phillip Securities lowered Apple from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating and set a $200.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Apple in a research note on Monday, September 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $290.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $248.29.

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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