Griffin Asset Management Inc. Sells 1,848 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Griffin Asset Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 176,394 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,848 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 4.3% of Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $36,191,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of AAPL. Ryan Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Apple in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% in 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 period. Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Apple in the first quarter worth approximately $58,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, HFM Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter worth $99,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total transaction of $11,071,116.07. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,181,866.93. This trade represents a 23.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.39, for a total transaction of $1,038,790.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 8,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,168,373.35. This trade represents a 32.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Apple from $279.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Melius upped their price target on Apple from $290.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Phillip Securities cut shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Moffett Nathanson upgraded shares of Apple from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $278.22.

Apple Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of Apple stock opened at $268.47 on Monday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.97 trillion, a P/E ratio of 40.74, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $277.32. The company’s fifty day moving average is $252.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $224.85.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.92%.

About Apple

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.