Seamount Financial Group Inc. Reduces Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Seamount Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,968 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,128 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 9.5% of Seamount Financial Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Seamount Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $12,575,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the second quarter worth $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its stake in shares of Apple by 88.9% in the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Cordant Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 34.3% in the third quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 678 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $158,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Hoese & Co LLP raised its stake in shares of Apple by 6.7% in the second quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 912 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $175,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sage Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the second quarter worth $206,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $248.13 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $232.50 and a 200 day moving average of $223.41. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $250.80. The firm has a market cap of $3.75 trillion, a PE ratio of 40.81, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s payout ratio is 16.45%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. The trade was a 6.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 408,170 shares of company stock valued at $92,007,745 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Maxim Group upped their price objective on Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Melius Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Apple to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.78.

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.