Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Position Reduced by GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC.

GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. cut its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 91.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,048 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 475,038 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 7.5% of GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC.'s portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC.'s holdings in Apple were worth $10,962,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 64,015 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $14,916,000 after acquiring an additional 1,066 shares during the last quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC raised its position in Apple by 2.7% in the second quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC now owns 289,421 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $60,958,000 after purchasing an additional 7,606 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 1.8% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 6,994,703 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,473,224,000 after purchasing an additional 126,210 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC grew 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 worth $16,269,000 after purchasing an additional 2,565 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 5.2% in the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,928,110 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $406,099,000 after buying an additional 95,235 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt reissued a "buy" rating and set a $245.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, September 9th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $236.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their price target for the company from $205.00 to $212.92 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Apple to $275.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered Apple from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $236.78.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL traded up $4.70 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $254.49. The stock had a trading volume of 145,580,875 shares, compared to its average volume of 57,671,145. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $255.00. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $234.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $225.70. The stock has a market cap of $3.85 trillion, a PE ratio of 41.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.52 billion. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.46 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Apple's payout ratio is currently 16.45%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total value of $13,802,497.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 187,043 shares in the company, valued at $42,309,126.60. This trade represents a 24.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 508,170 shares of company stock worth $117,004,745. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.