Apple Inc. $AAPL Stock Position Lowered by Kanawha Capital Management LLC

Kanawha Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 320,402 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 3,968 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 4.9% of Kanawha Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Kanawha Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $65,737,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ryan Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its position in 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 buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 333.3% in the second quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the first quarter valued at $58,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $65,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of AAPL opened at $272.41 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $277.32. The company’s fifty day moving average is $255.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $226.95. The firm has a market cap of $4.03 trillion, a PE ratio of 41.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 13.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AAPL. CLSA raised shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, October 5th. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $203.07 to $246.99 in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, October 27th. 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $278.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total transaction of $33,375,798.03. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $842,412,558.95. This represents a 3.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of the firm’s 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 in the company, valued at $2,168,373.35. The trade was a 32.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 228,052 shares of company stock worth $58,604,588. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.