Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Holdings Lowered by Suncoast Equity Management

Suncoast Equity Management lessened its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 234,947 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 3,921 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 6.6% of Suncoast Equity Management's holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Suncoast Equity Management's holdings in Apple were worth $58,835,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. O Connor Financial Group LLC increased its position in Apple by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $896,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in Apple by 0.5% during the third quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,654 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,249,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC increased its position in Apple by 0.4% during the third quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,848,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. increased its position in Apple by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 3,775 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $945,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Family Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,910 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $4,235,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $202.33 to $167.88 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Argus upgraded shares of Apple to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $232.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. The trade was a 17.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 187,021 shares of company stock valued at $41,760,140. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $212.67. 26,968,585 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,447,346. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.11 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The company has a 50-day moving average of $213.66 and a 200 day moving average of $228.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.19 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. Research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

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.