Apple Inc. $AAPL Position Lowered by Violich Capital Management Inc.

Violich Capital Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 222,414 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 21,843 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 6.4% of Violich Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Violich Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $45,633,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ryan Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% in the 1st 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 increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 333.3% in 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 last quarter. Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter valued at about $58,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 179,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,005,982.82. This trade represents a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $33,375,798.03. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $842,412,558.95. The trade was a 3.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 228,052 shares of company stock worth $58,604,588. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $267.46 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.95 trillion, a P/E ratio of 40.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $256.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $227.43. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $277.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The business’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 business earned $1.64 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 13.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. Melius upped their price objective on Apple from $290.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Melius Research set a $345.00 target price on Apple in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $325.00 price target on Apple in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Argus set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Apple from $180.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.22.

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.