Apple Inc. $AAPL Stock Position Reduced by Sowa Financial Group Inc.

Sowa Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 104,845 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 6,233 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 13.4% of Sowa Financial Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Sowa Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $21,511,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First National Bank of Hutchinson boosted its position in shares of Apple by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,845,000 after acquiring an additional 6,982 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 272 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $134,554,000 after purchasing an additional 69,207 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $16,742,000 after buying an additional 2,695 shares during the period. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $12,587,000 after buying an additional 1,155 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was 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 directly owned 179,158 shares in the company, valued at $46,005,982.82. This represents a 20.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total value of $33,375,798.03. Following the sale, 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 position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 228,052 shares of company stock worth $58,604,588. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Down 0.0%

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $267.44 on Wednesday. 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 quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The company has a market capitalization of $3.95 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $257.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $227.87.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $102.47 billion during 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 company’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.64 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $300.00 price objective on Apple in a report on Friday, October 31st. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Moffett Nathanson raised shares of Apple from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $278.22.

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.