Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Reduced by Mediolanum International Funds Ltd

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lessened its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,235,966 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 81,553 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 6.6% of Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in Apple were worth $508,488,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Boston Common Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 9.5% during the second quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC now owns 203,435 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,847,000 after buying an additional 17,617 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,701,000. Benchmark Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at about $208,000. Westend Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Apple by 5,126.6% during the second quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 67,684 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $14,671,000 after purchasing an additional 66,389 shares during the period. Finally, BancFirst Trust & Investment Management lifted its position in shares of Apple by 22.4% during the second quarter. BancFirst Trust & Investment Management now owns 2,048 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $439,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,730 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.86, for a total value of $13,550,347.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares in the company, valued at $111,148,695.84. This trade represents a 10.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,528,946.53. The trade was a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 508,170 shares of company stock valued at $117,004,745 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $258.20 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $258.21. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $235.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $226.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.90 trillion, a PE ratio of 42.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The business had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Apple to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Tigress Financial upped their price target on Apple from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $273.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.78.

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.