Strive Asset Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Strive Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 27.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,744 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 4,460 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 1.8% of Strive Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Strive Asset Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $2,609,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% in the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Elite Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter worth $58,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth $63,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth $65,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $240.00 target price (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, August 1st. Moffett Nathanson raised Apple from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $225.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, September 4th. HSBC set a $220.00 price objective on Apple and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $240.80.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $234.07 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $221.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $212.20. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.47 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.11.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.40 earnings per share. Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 15.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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