Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Holdings Trimmed by Highland Capital Management LLC

Highland Capital Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 400,944 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 19,261 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 5.0% of Highland Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $84,447,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc bought a new position in Apple in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 31,278 shares during the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. increased its holdings in Apple by 657.1% during the fourth quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $85,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $233.00 on Tuesday. 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 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $237.23. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $222.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $202.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.57 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $85.78 billion for 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $1.26 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.7 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on AAPL. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $255.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $190.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson began coverage on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, August 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $211.00 price target on the stock. One 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $238.76.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total transaction of $1,121,037.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 24,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,223,062.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total value of $1,121,037.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 24,125 shares in the company, valued at $5,223,062.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 over the last 90 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.