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

Fortem Financial Group LLC lowered its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 24,452 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 507 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 2.2% of Fortem Financial Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Fortem Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $5,150,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Absher Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 1.3% in the second quarter. Absher Wealth Management LLC now owns 113,796 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $23,968,000 after buying an additional 1,499 shares in the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the second quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 31,913 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,721,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Founders Financial Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 19.6% during the second quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 90,731 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $19,110,000 after purchasing an additional 14,870 shares during the period. Regal Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter valued at approximately $864,000. Finally, Oxinas Partners Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.7% during the second quarter. Oxinas Partners Wealth Management LLC now owns 36,186 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $7,621,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and set a $255.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Melius Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Monness Crespi & Hardt reissued a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Loop Capital raised Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $170.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Finally, KeyCorp restated a “hold” rating and set a $247.61 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $239.27.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $235.00 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $237.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $225.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $207.84. The company has a market capitalization of $3.60 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.55, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 147.15% and a net margin of 26.44%. The firm had revenue of $85.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.43 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.26 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current fiscal 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.55%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total transaction of $50,275,897.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $736,269,202.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at $39,542,136.92. The trade was 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 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.