Aspiriant LLC Cuts Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Aspiriant LLC decreased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 12.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 300,315 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 44,178 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 2.0% of Aspiriant LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Aspiriant LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $61,616,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ryan Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the second quarter valued at $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC raised its position in shares of Apple by 333.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Elite Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Apple during the first quarter worth about $58,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $65,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of AAPL opened at $272.41 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $277.32. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $255.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $227.05. The stock has a market cap of $4.03 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th were issued 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 dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s payout ratio is 13.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. HSBC set a $220.00 price target on shares of Apple and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $180.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, November 9th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on Apple from $241.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Apple from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $278.22.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of the company’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 transaction of $11,071,116.07. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $46,005,982.82. The trade was a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 228,052 shares of company stock valued at $58,604,588. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.