MBA Advisors LLC Lowers Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

MBA Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,571 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 853 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 2.7% of MBA Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. MBA Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $5,725,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 1.3% in the third quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,489 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $813,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Verus Financial Partners Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Verus Financial Partners Inc. now owns 16,929 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,566,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Brown Financial Advisory increased its position in shares of Apple by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Financial Advisory now owns 1,364 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Core Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Apple by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Core Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,968 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $625,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Lowery Thomas LLC lifted its position in Apple by 0.7% in the second quarter. Lowery Thomas LLC now owns 7,607 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,602,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $255.59 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $237.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $227.89. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The firm has a market cap 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 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The company had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $205.00 to $212.92 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Bank of America raised their price target on Apple to $256.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Apple to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Oppenheimer restated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $273.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $237.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $736,269,202.80. This trade represents a 6.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total transaction of $13,802,497.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 187,043 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,309,126.60. This trade represents a 24.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 508,170 shares of company stock valued at $117,004,745. 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.