Davis Investment Partners LLC Cuts Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Davis Investment Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,143 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 2,670 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 1.9% of Davis Investment Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Davis Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $4,568,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 31,278 shares during the period. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Access Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the first quarter worth about $140,000. Hoese & Co LLP lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sage Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $206,000. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded up $1.33 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $229.85. The stock had a trading volume of 4,135,982 shares, compared to its average volume of 58,095,512. The firm has a market cap of $3.47 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.24. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $237.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $227.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $217.47.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.52 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.46 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 presently 16.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,730 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.86, for a total transaction of $13,550,347.80. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares of the company's stock, valued at $111,148,695.84. This trade represents a 10.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,528,946.53. The trade was a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 408,170 shares of company stock valued at $92,007,745. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. Moffett Nathanson cut their price target on Apple from $211.00 to $202.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an "overweight" rating and set a $265.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. StockNews.com downgraded Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $245.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, September 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.25.

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.