Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC Cuts Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 9.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 239,054 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 25,068 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 3.8% of Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $49,047,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Ryan Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Apple during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Nexus Investment Management ULC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Elite Financial Inc. bought a new position in Apple in the 1st quarter worth approximately $58,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of the firm’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 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 trade represents a 23.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,168,373.35. This trade represents a 32.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 228,052 shares of company stock worth $58,604,588 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Robert W. Baird set a $300.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Phillip Securities lowered shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Melius Research set a $345.00 price target on Apple in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $280.09.

Apple Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of AAPL opened at $278.78 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $266.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $234.26. The stock has a market cap of $4.12 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.10. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $288.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $102.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.65 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 164.05% and a net margin of 26.92%.Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.64 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Apple 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.