Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Suncoast Equity Management

Suncoast Equity Management reduced its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 172,599 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 9,892 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 3.6% of Suncoast Equity Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Suncoast Equity Management’s holdings in Apple were worth $35,412,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Ryan Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC grew 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 valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC increased 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 worth $53,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Apple in the 1st quarter worth $58,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Barclays lifted their target price on Apple from $180.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Loop Capital upgraded Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $226.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on Apple from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Apple from $279.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $278.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,005,982.82. This represents a 20.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total transaction of $33,375,798.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at $842,412,558.95. This represents a 3.81% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 224,300 shares of company stock worth $57,586,933 in the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $269.77 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $277.32. 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 firm has a market cap of $4.00 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.94, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $251.53 and a 200-day moving average of $224.02.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $102.47 billion for 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.64 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

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.