Prosperity Financial Group Inc. Sells 2,010 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Prosperity Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.5% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 54,979 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,010 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 4.8% of Prosperity Financial Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Prosperity Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $11,280,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. Ryan Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Apple in the second quarter valued at $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% during the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 333.3% in the 2nd quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the first quarter worth about $58,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.39, for a total transaction of $1,038,790.61. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 8,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,168,373.35. This represents a 32.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 228,052 shares of company stock valued at $58,604,588. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Apple from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $300.00 target price on shares of Apple and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, October 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $278.22.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $271.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.01 trillion, a PE ratio of 41.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $277.32. The company has a fifty day moving average of $259.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $229.13.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 13.92%.

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.