Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Position Trimmed by Ensign Peak Advisors Inc

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc reduced its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 5.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,542,663 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 778,210 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 5.6% of Ensign Peak Advisors Inc's holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned about 0.09% of Apple worth $3,062,976,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Apple in the first quarter valued at approximately $140,000. Hoese & Co LLP grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Sage Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Apple in the 2nd quarter worth about $206,000. Benchmark Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at about $208,000. Finally, SMH Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Apple during the second quarter valued at about $209,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have 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 stock from $205.00 to $212.92 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Evercore ISI restated a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Cfra lifted their price target on Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Apple from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Two equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.51.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was 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 owns 3,280,180 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total transaction of $13,802,497.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 187,043 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,309,126.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the company'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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 412,746 shares of company stock worth $93,021,362 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of AAPL traded down $0.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $226.96. The company had a trading volume of 38,328,824 shares, compared to its average volume of 58,991,406. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $237.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The company has a market capitalization of $3.43 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $226.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $214.03.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The company's revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. Apple's payout ratio is 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.