Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Scotia Capital Inc.

Scotia Capital Inc. reduced its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.6% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,325,183 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 53,550 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 4.0% of Scotia Capital Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Scotia Capital Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $738,623,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Novus Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 1.5% in the first quarter. Novus Advisors LLC now owns 7,827 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,739,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,130 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,584,000 after acquiring an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. Quantum Financial Planning Services Inc. grew its holdings in Apple by 20.5% during the 1st quarter. Quantum Financial Planning Services Inc. now owns 8,086 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,796,000 after acquiring an additional 1,375 shares in the last quarter. Liberty Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 1,993.5% during the 1st quarter. Liberty Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,443,279 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $542,726,000 after acquiring an additional 2,326,570 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. grew its holdings in Apple by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. now owns 69,158 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $15,362,000 after acquiring an additional 862 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $239.69 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $219.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $212.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.56 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.37, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.11.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The business’s revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $217.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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.