Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by GAM Holding AG

GAM Holding AG lessened its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 20.1% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 167,187 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 42,106 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 2.4% of GAM Holding AG’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. GAM Holding AG’s holdings in Apple were worth $34,302,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ryan Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Apple in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its position in Apple by 1,800.0% in the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC lifted its stake in Apple by 333.3% during the 2nd quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Apple during the 1st quarter worth $58,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth $65,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total transaction of $11,071,116.07. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,181,866.93. This trade represents a 23.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 3,752 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.23, for a total transaction of $1,017,654.96. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,095,030.54. This represents a 19.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 228,052 shares of company stock valued at $58,604,588 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $283.10 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.18 trillion, a PE ratio of 42.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $283.42. The business’s fifty day moving average is $263.81 and its 200 day moving average is $232.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.11. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The business had revenue of $102.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.65 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.64 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. CLSA raised Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, October 5th. Bank of America increased their price target on Apple from $270.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Melius Research set a $345.00 price objective on Apple in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their target price on Apple from $300.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $278.22.

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.