ARS Investment Partners LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

ARS Investment Partners LLC lessened its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.9% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 368,033 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 14,915 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 7.4% of ARS Investment Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. ARS Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $77,515,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc bought a new stake in Apple in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 31,278 shares in the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. boosted its position in Apple by 657.1% during the fourth quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $85,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Melius Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Monness Crespi & Hardt restated a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $256.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $238.62.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total value of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at $39,542,136.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total transaction of $1,958,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,469,275. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total value of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at $39,542,136.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 113,884 shares of company stock worth $23,723,887. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $222.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.95. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $237.23. The company has a market capitalization of $3.38 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a fifty day moving average of $223.14 and a 200-day moving average of $198.52.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $85.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.43 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 147.15% and a net margin of 26.44%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.26 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

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.