Souders Financial Advisors Cuts Stock Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Souders Financial Advisors trimmed its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 57,890 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 840 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 1.5% of Souders Financial Advisors’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Souders Financial Advisors’ holdings in Apple were worth $11,877,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 8,765 shares in the company, valued at $2,168,373.35. This trade represents a 32.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total value of $11,071,116.07. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,181,866.93. This represents a 23.94% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 228,052 shares of company stock worth $58,604,588. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $283.10 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $263.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $232.37. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $283.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company has a market capitalization of $4.18 trillion, a PE ratio of 42.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $102.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.65 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.64 EPS. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 13.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. HSBC set a $220.00 target price on shares of Apple and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $241.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $279.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Moffett Nathanson upgraded shares of Apple from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 4th. 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.22.

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.