Financial Enhancement Group LLC Cuts Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Financial Enhancement Group LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,683 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,462 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 1.4% of Financial Enhancement Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Financial Enhancement Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $9,975,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bellwether Advisors LLC grew its stake in Apple by 387.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bellwether Advisors LLC now owns 24,349 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,128,000 after acquiring an additional 19,352 shares in the last quarter. WT Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at about $80,057,000. Councilmark Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the 1st quarter valued at about $11,776,000. Hummer Financial Advisory Services Inc boosted its holdings in Apple by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Hummer Financial Advisory Services Inc now owns 5,488 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $941,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 617,582 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $105,903,000 after purchasing an additional 6,567 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $235.00 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $237.49. The company’s 50 day moving average is $225.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $207.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company has a market cap of $3.60 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 147.15%. The company had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.26 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $255.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $186.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. KeyCorp reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $247.61 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. New Street Research reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.27.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,730 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.86, for a total value of $13,550,347.80. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $111,148,695.84. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Apple news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total value of $13,433,768.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,416,137.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,730 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.86, for a total transaction of $13,550,347.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $111,148,695.84. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 517,924 shares of company stock valued at $114,786,399 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Company 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.