West Bancorporation Inc. Sells 239 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

West Bancorporation Inc. reduced its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,617 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 239 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 1.9% of West Bancorporation Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. West Bancorporation Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $2,999,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AAPL. Ryan Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Apple during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% in the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the first quarter worth approximately $58,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, HFM Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter valued at $99,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total value of $12,101,228.75. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 179,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,005,982.82. This trade represents a 20.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total value of $11,071,116.07. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,181,866.93. The trade was a 23.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 224,300 shares of company stock valued at $57,586,933 in the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays upped their price objective on Apple from $180.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and set a $315.00 price objective (up previously from $245.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $278.22.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $269.77 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $277.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.00 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.94, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The business has a 50-day moving average of $251.53 and a 200-day moving average of $224.02.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.11. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The firm had revenue of $102.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.65 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 10th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 13.92%.

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.