Guardian Financial Partners LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Guardian Financial Partners LLC lowered its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,526 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 620 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 1.5% of Guardian Financial Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Guardian Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,391,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Apple Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of Apple stock opened at $277.55 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $280.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.10 trillion, a PE ratio of 42.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $261.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $230.80.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.64 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AAPL. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $325.00 price target on Apple in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $279.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, October 27th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson upgraded Apple from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $278.22.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 3,752 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.23, for a total transaction of $1,017,654.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,095,030.54. This represents a 19.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,168,373.35. This represents a 32.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 228,052 shares of company stock worth $58,604,588 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.