JGP Wealth Management LLC Sells 653 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

JGP Wealth Management LLC decreased its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 218,480 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 653 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 5.4% of JGP Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. JGP Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $44,825,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Baker Boyer National Bank raised its position in Apple by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Baker Boyer National Bank now owns 18,011 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,695,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Salus Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.9% in the first quarter. Salus Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Red Tortoise LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 0.9% during the second quarter. Red Tortoise LLC now owns 5,717 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,173,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. SigFig Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 2.8% during the second quarter. SigFig Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,830 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $368,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Shariaportfolio Inc. grew its position in Apple by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Shariaportfolio Inc. now owns 3,999 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $820,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total transaction of $11,071,116.07. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $35,181,866.93. This represents a 23.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total value of $12,101,228.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,005,982.82. This trade represents a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 224,300 shares of company stock worth $57,586,933. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on AAPL. HSBC set a $220.00 target price on Apple and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Apple from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Seaport Res Ptn raised Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Melius Research set a $345.00 target price on Apple in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Apple from $270.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.22.

Apple Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of AAPL opened at $275.25 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $277.32. The business has a 50-day moving average of $253.91 and a 200 day moving average of $225.75. The firm has a market cap of $4.07 trillion, a P/E ratio of 41.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $102.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.65 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.64 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

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.