Northeast Financial Consultants Inc Lowers Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Northeast Financial Consultants Inc reduced its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 326,722 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 13,635 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 3.2% of Northeast Financial Consultants Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc’s holdings in Apple were worth $68,814,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Access Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the first quarter worth approximately $140,000. Hoese & Co LLP increased its stake in Apple by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 912 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $175,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Sage Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at $206,000. Benchmark Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at $208,000. Finally, SMH Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter worth $209,000. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $228.22 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $226.84 and its 200 day moving average is $215.52. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $237.49. The firm has a market cap of $3.45 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The firm had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 16.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. New Street Research reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Monness Crespi & Hardt reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Citigroup upped their target price on Apple to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.51.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total transaction of $13,433,768.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,416,137.76. This represents a 35.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total transaction of $13,802,497.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 187,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,309,126.60. This represents a 24.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 404,040 shares of company stock valued at $91,062,512. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Company 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.