Litman Gregory Wealth Management LLC Sells 3,735 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Litman Gregory Wealth Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 135,555 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 3,735 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 2.6% of Litman Gregory Wealth Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Litman Gregory Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $31,584,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the second quarter valued at $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its holdings in Apple by 88.9% in the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. Cordant Inc. lifted its position in Apple by 34.3% in the third quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 678 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $158,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Hoese & Co LLP boosted its stake in Apple by 6.7% during the second quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 912 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $175,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, Sage Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter valued at about $206,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AAPL. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $205.00 to $212.92 in a report on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com cut Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Apple to $185.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $236.78.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,730 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was 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 represents a 10.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total value of $50,275,897.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. This trade represents a 6.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 508,170 shares of company stock worth $117,004,745 over the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL stock traded up $4.70 on Friday, hitting $254.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 145,580,875 shares, compared to its average volume of 57,671,145. The stock has a market cap of $3.85 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $234.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $225.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $255.00.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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%.

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.