Spring Capital Management LLC Sells 5,486 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Spring Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,779 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 5,486 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 10.3% of Spring Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Spring Capital Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $13,929,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Apple by 127.4% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 75,479 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $12,943,000 after buying an additional 42,282 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 2.4% during the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 761,774 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $130,629,000 after buying an additional 17,519 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. now owns 105,895 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $18,159,000 after acquiring an additional 9,133 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 57.3% during the 1st quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 41,504 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $7,117,000 after acquiring an additional 15,124 shares during the period. Finally, Milestones Administradora de Recursos Ltda. purchased a new stake in Apple in the first quarter worth $496,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 508,170 shares of company stock worth $117,004,745 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $4.70 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $254.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 145,580,875 shares, compared to its average volume of 57,671,145. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.85 trillion, a PE ratio of 41.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $234.97 and a 200 day moving average of $225.70. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $255.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The business had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.46 EPS. The company's revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Apple to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Moffett Nathanson decreased their price target on shares of Apple from $211.00 to $202.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $273.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Apple to $275.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Melius Research reissued a "buy" rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $236.78.

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.