Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Holdings Cut by PFG Advisors

PFG Advisors lessened its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 179,572 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 6,436 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 2.6% of PFG Advisors’ investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. PFG Advisors’ holdings in Apple were worth $41,840,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 88.9% in the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Hoese & Co LLP boosted its position in Apple by 6.7% during the second 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 last quarter. Sage Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at about $206,000. Finally, Benchmark Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at about $208,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at $736,269,202.80. This trade represents a 6.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 408,170 shares of company stock worth $92,007,745 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $243.04 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.67 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.97, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.23. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $230.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $221.05. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $244.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $94.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were paid 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 0.41%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Melius Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Apple to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $205.00 to $212.92 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.68.

Apple 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.