Factorial Partners LLC Sells 5,800 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Factorial Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 32.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,000 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 5,800 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 1.6% of Factorial Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Factorial Partners LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $2,796,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 1.7% in the third quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 64,015 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $14,916,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066 shares during the period. Amara Financial LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $288,000. Granite Investment Partners LLC increased its position in Apple by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC now owns 289,421 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $60,958,000 after buying an additional 7,606 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Apple by 1.8% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 6,994,703 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,473,224,000 after acquiring an additional 126,210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Investment Counsel LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.8% during the third quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 69,824 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $16,269,000 after acquiring an additional 2,565 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL traded down $1.59 during trading on Friday, reaching $236.00. 100,927,959 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 52,177,912. The company has a market cap of $3.55 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.82, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $241.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $230.87.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.34 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.45%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares of the company's stock, valued at $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $280.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $236.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Bank of America upped their price target on Apple from $253.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Apple from $273.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Moffett Nathanson restated a "sell" rating and set a $188.00 target price (down previously from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $242.52.

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.