Paul R. Ried Financial Group LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Paul R. Ried Financial Group LLC decreased its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 14.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,444 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 6,460 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 4.8% of Paul R. Ried Financial Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Paul R. Ried Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $7,888,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ryan Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Apple in the second quarter worth $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% in the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Nexus Investment Management ULC lifted 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 acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter worth about $58,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.39, for a total transaction of $1,038,790.61. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,168,373.35. This trade represents a 32.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $842,412,558.95. This trade represents a 3.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 228,052 shares of company stock worth $58,604,588. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on Apple from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Apple from $270.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Tigress Financial increased their target price on Apple from $300.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $280.09.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $278.78 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $266.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $234.26. The company has a market capitalization of $4.12 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.10. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $288.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $102.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.65 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 164.05% and a net margin of 26.92%.The company’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.64 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

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.