Contravisory Investment Management Inc. Lowers Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Contravisory Investment Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 58.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,564 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,203 shares during the quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $329,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Flagstone Financial Management increased its stake in Apple by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Flagstone Financial Management now owns 6,092 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,173,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Hoese & Co LLP increased its stake in Apple by 6.7% in the second quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 912 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $175,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Stableford Capital II LLC increased its stake in Apple by 0.3% in the first quarter. Stableford Capital II LLC now owns 17,156 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,942,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Kwmg LLC increased its stake in Apple by 0.6% in the first quarter. Kwmg LLC now owns 10,640 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,825,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greylin Investment Management Inc increased its stake in Apple by 0.4% in the first quarter. Greylin Investment Management Inc now owns 16,711 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,866,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total transaction of $20,644,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at $39,542,136.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total transaction of $1,958,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,469,275. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total value of $20,644,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 113,884 shares of company stock worth $23,723,887. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $273.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday. KeyCorp reissued a “hold” rating and set a $247.61 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Apple from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price target on Apple from $205.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 target price (up previously from $190.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $237.30.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $229.79 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.52 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.74, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.24. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $221.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $195.24. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $237.23.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.43 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 145.35% and a net margin of 26.44%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.26 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 15.55%.

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.