Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is SlateStone Wealth LLC’s 2nd Largest Position

SlateStone Wealth LLC trimmed its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 18.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 261,287 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 60,458 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 6.0% of SlateStone Wealth LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. SlateStone Wealth LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $55,032,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the first quarter worth approximately $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Apple by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 31,278 shares in the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 657.1% during the 4th quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth $85,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. DA Davidson raised Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $200.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $285.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, September 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Monness Crespi & Hardt reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, KeyCorp reissued a “hold” rating and set a $247.61 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $238.76.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total transaction of $1,121,037.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 24,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,223,062.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total transaction of $1,121,037.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 24,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,223,062.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 113,884 shares of company stock worth $23,723,887. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Down 2.9 %

Shares of AAPL opened at $226.21 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $3.47 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.18, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $222.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $203.18. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $237.23.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 147.15%. The firm had revenue of $85.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.26 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 15.55%.

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.