Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC

Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 143,061 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,423 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 3.4% of Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $29,352,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ryan Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Apple in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its holdings 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. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Apple during the 1st quarter valued at about $58,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, HFM Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter worth approximately $99,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total value of $33,375,798.03. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $842,412,558.95. The trade was a 3.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total transaction of $12,101,228.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,005,982.82. This trade represents a 20.83% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 224,300 shares of company stock valued at $57,586,933. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Melius Research set a $345.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, October 31st. DZ Bank raised Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Apple from $220.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Three 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $278.22.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $268.47 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $252.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $224.71. 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 $3.97 trillion, a PE ratio of 40.74, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $277.32.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

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.