Emerald Advisers LLC Sells 2,733 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Emerald Advisers LLC reduced its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 13.6% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 17,365 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,733 shares during the quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,563,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ryan Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its position in Apple by 1,800.0% during the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC lifted its holdings in Apple by 333.3% during the 2nd quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Elite Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter valued at about $58,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $278.63 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $280.38. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $4.12 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.28, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $263.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $231.72.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on AAPL. Argus set a $325.00 price objective on Apple and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Melius lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” 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 issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.22.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 3,752 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.23, for a total value of $1,017,654.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,095,030.54. This trade represents a 19.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 approximately $2,168,373.35. The trade was a 32.39% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 228,052 shares of company stock valued at $58,604,588. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.