Associated Banc Corp Sells 17,106 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Associated Banc Corp trimmed its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 661,683 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 17,106 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 4.5% of Associated Banc Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Associated Banc Corp's holdings in Apple were worth $154,172,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 34.3% in the third quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 40,421 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $9,418,000 after purchasing an additional 10,323 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its stake in Apple by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,297,612 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $302,344,000 after buying an additional 44,775 shares during the period. Alliance Wealth Management Group lifted its position in Apple by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group now owns 28,477 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $6,635,000 after buying an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Concentric Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. Concentric Wealth Management LLC now owns 59,556 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $13,877,000 after buying an additional 4,968 shares during the period. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 35.1% during the 3rd quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 512,754 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $119,467,000 after acquiring an additional 133,330 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $0.75 on Thursday, hitting $233.22. The stock had a trading volume of 28,916,796 shares, compared to its average volume of 57,473,289. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $241.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $230.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The company has a market capitalization of $3.51 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. Apple's payout ratio is 15.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Apple from $273.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Apple from $280.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Apple from a "hold" rating to an "underperform" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $211.84 to $200.75 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $242.52.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction of $945,233.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares of the company's stock, valued at $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.