Traction Financial Partners LLC Sells 130 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Traction Financial Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,494 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 130 shares during the period. Apple makes up 0.6% of Traction Financial Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Traction Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $785,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 31,278 shares during the last quarter. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the first quarter worth about $140,000. Hoese & Co LLP increased its stake in Apple by 6.7% during the second quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 912 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $175,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Sage Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Finally, Benchmark Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $208,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $225.00 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $237.49. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $226.96 and its 200-day moving average is $215.60. The company has a market capitalization of $3.40 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 16.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Moffett Nathanson started coverage on Apple in a research note on Monday, August 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $211.00 target price for the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Apple from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. New Street Research reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Apple to $236.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Maxim Group raised their target price on Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.51.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total transaction of $13,433,768.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,416,137.76. The trade was a 35.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,730 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.86, for a total value of $13,550,347.80. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $111,148,695.84. This represents a 10.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 404,040 shares of company stock valued at $91,062,512 in the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by 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.