Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Position Lowered by Matisse Capital

Matisse Capital cut its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,369 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,576 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 4.5% of Matisse Capital’s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Matisse Capital’s holdings in Apple were worth $9,134,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. purchased a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 657.1% in 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 buying an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Clarity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $85,000. Clear Street Markets LLC raised its position in Apple by 100.6% during the 4th quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 483 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 83,965 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the first quarter valued at about $140,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total value of $50,275,897.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,542,136.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total value of $50,275,897.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at $736,269,202.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 517,924 shares of company stock valued at $114,786,399. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL stock opened at $229.04 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $223.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $205.14. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $237.23. The firm has a market cap of $3.51 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $84.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.26 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.7 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Apple from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $256.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $261.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Apple from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.27.

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.