Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Sells 6,745 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC lessened its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 682,225 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 6,745 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 4.9% of Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $139,972,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. First National Bank of Hutchinson lifted its position in shares of Apple by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,845,000 after purchasing an additional 6,982 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,544,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Apple by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $134,554,000 after buying an additional 69,207 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $16,742,000 after buying an additional 2,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE boosted its position in Apple by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $12,587,000 after buying an additional 1,155 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock opened at $271.49 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $259.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $229.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market cap of $4.01 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.20, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $277.32.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Melius upped their price objective on Apple from $290.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. UBS Group upped their price target on Apple from $220.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on Apple from $241.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. CLSA raised Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, October 5th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned 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 company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $278.22.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at $842,412,558.95. This trade represents a 3.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of the business’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 value 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 represents a 23.94% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 228,052 shares of company stock valued at $58,604,588. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.