Steele Capital Management Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Steele Capital Management Inc. reduced its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 133,117 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,009 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 1.6% of Steele Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Steele Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $28,037,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,318,064,349 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $253,766,929,000 after buying an additional 18,067,216 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $33,912,466,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Apple by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 60,651,275 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $11,677,190,000 after buying an additional 2,096,360 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 54,702,300 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $10,531,834,000 after buying an additional 1,067,587 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Apple by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 37,146,325 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,369,852,000 after buying an additional 2,474,887 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 24,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,223,062.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 24,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,223,062.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total transaction of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. Insiders sold a total of 113,884 shares of company stock valued at $23,723,887 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $220.91 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $237.23. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $223.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $197.62. The company has a market cap of $3.36 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 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 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $85.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.26 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.7 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AAPL. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Cfra boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Apple from $187.00 to $186.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $170.00 to $300.00 in a report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $238.62.

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.