Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC

Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC reduced its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 177,531 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 7,946 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 2.0% of Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $45,205,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. First National Bank of Hutchinson increased its stake in Apple by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,845,000 after purchasing an additional 6,982 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,544,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $134,554,000 after buying an additional 69,207 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $16,742,000 after buying an additional 2,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE raised its stake in shares of Apple by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $12,587,000 after buying an additional 1,155 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Loop Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $325.00 price objective (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Melius Research set a $345.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. TD Cowen upped their target price on Apple from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Apple from $270.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.92.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $271.84 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $4.02 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $269.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $238.57. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $288.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.11. Apple had a return on equity of 164.05% and a net margin of 26.92%.The firm had revenue of $102.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.65 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.64 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 3,752 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 15,098 shares in the company, valued at $4,095,030.54. This represents a 19.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total value of $12,101,228.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 179,158 shares in the company, valued at $46,005,982.82. The trade was a 20.83% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 228,052 shares of company stock valued at $58,604,588 over the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.