Trademark Financial Management LLC Cuts Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Trademark Financial Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 6.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,144 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 142 shares during the period. Trademark Financial Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $500,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bull Oak Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 252.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its stake in Apple by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. Cordant Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 34.3% in the third quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 678 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $158,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Finally, EMC Capital Management increased its stake in shares of Apple by 7.3% during the third quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 892 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $201,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $236.85 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $240.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $229.95. The stock has a market cap of $3.58 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $260.10.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.45%.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. The trade was a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Wedbush upped their price objective on Apple from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 26th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their target price on shares of Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays boosted their price target on Apple to $184.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Apple to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $239.85.

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.