Absher Wealth Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Absher Wealth Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 102,283 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 11,513 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 3.1% of Absher Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. Absher Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $23,832,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Bull Oak Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 252.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the second quarter worth $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew 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 valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Cordant Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 34.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 678 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $158,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the period. Finally, Sage Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Apple during the 2nd quarter worth about $206,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Down 0.2 %

AAPL stock opened at $243.36 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The company has a fifty day moving average of $238.68 and a 200-day moving average of $228.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.68 trillion, a PE ratio of 40.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 16.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. New Street Research reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $236.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Barclays cut their price objective on Apple from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Maxim Group boosted their target price on Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $238.03.

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.