abrdn plc Reduces Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

abrdn plc reduced its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 12,816,397 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 629,717 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 5.5% of abrdn plc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. abrdn plc’s holdings in Apple were worth $2,976,544,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 39.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. now owns 43,098 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $10,042,000 after acquiring an additional 12,204 shares in the last quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 5.1% during the third quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC now owns 248,496 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $57,900,000 after purchasing an additional 12,130 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in Apple by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 9,363 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,182,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Worth Financial Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Apple by 50.1% in the 3rd quarter. Worth Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 39,214 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $9,137,000 after buying an additional 13,085 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 223,982 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $51,644,000 after buying an additional 7,365 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $255.59 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.86 trillion, a PE ratio of 42.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $237.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $227.89. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.52 billion. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.46 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price target on Apple from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $205.00 to $212.92 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Two 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $237.47.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,730 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.86, for a total transaction of $13,550,347.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $111,148,695.84. This represents a 10.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total transaction of $50,275,897.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. The trade was a 6.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 508,170 shares of company stock worth $117,004,745 in the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Company 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.