Southern Capital Advisors LLC Sells 685 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Southern Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 20,313 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 685 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 2.6% of Southern Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Southern Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $4,278,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. acquired a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 657.1% in 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 buying an additional 368 shares during the period. Clarity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $85,000. Finally, Clear Street Markets LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 100.6% during the fourth quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 483 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $93,000 after acquiring an additional 83,965 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $227.79 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $222.19 and a 200-day moving average of $202.38. The firm has a market cap of $3.49 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.43, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $237.23.

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. The company had revenue of $85.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.43 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 147.15% and a net margin of 26.44%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.26 EPS. Analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 15.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AAPL. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. TD Cowen upped 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. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $261.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $285.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $238.76.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,542,136.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total transaction of $1,958,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,469,275. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 113,884 shares of company stock valued at $23,723,887. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.