Kesler Norman & Wride LLC Lowers Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC decreased its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 10.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 72,885 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 8,232 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 3.3% of Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $16,983,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter valued at $3,026,492,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 14,145.8% in the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 7,612,261 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,603,000 after acquiring an additional 7,558,826 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in Apple by 158.3% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 11,532,438 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,977,582,000 after purchasing an additional 7,067,379 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 161.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 5,405,542 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $834,368,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Up 0.6 %

Apple stock opened at $229.87 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $237.49. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $227.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $218.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.47 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.81, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 EPS 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 revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.46 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.45%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related 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 value of $13,802,497.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 187,043 shares in the company, valued at $42,309,126.60. The trade was a 24.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 transaction of $50,275,897.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. This represents a 6.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 408,170 shares of company stock worth $92,007,745 over the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. Maxim Group raised their price objective on Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt restated a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Apple to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Moffett Nathanson decreased their price objective on shares of Apple from $211.00 to $202.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating and set a $265.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.25.

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.