Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Private Client Services LLC

Private Client Services LLC lowered its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 24.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,645 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 5,423 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 2.1% of Private Client Services LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Private Client Services LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $3,878,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB bought a new position in Apple during the first quarter worth about $3,026,492,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 14,145.8% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 7,612,261 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,603,000 after buying an additional 7,558,826 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in shares of Apple by 158.3% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 11,532,438 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,977,582,000 after buying an additional 7,067,379 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 161.2% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,759,445 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,502,068,000 after buying an additional 5,405,542 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $834,368,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AAPL. Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their target price for the company from $205.00 to $212.92 in a report on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $265.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $285.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.25.

Apple Trading Down 0.8 %

AAPL stock traded down $1.76 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $226.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 15,109,353 shares, compared to its average volume of 58,317,230. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $227.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $217.31. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $237.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.42 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.33, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.24.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction of $945,233.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total transaction of $50,275,897.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at $736,269,202.80. This represents a 6.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 408,170 shares of company stock valued at $92,007,745. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Company 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.