Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Position Lessened by Gulf International Bank UK Ltd

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd cut its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,152,474 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 52,913 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 6.9% of Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in Apple were worth $268,526,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lantz Financial LLC boosted its position in Apple by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 29,751 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,266,000 after purchasing an additional 2,361 shares during the period. Addenda Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 9.8% during the second quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. now owns 143,716 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $30,269,000 after acquiring an additional 12,848 shares during the period. Tsfg LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 10.9% in the second quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 53,451 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $11,258,000 after purchasing an additional 5,233 shares during the period. Holland Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Holland Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,073 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,700,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 2.9% in the second quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 51,290 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $10,803,000 after purchasing an additional 1,432 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $256.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $273.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, December 13th. Loop Capital cut their price target on Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $236.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven 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 an average price target of $237.64.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $945,233.10. Following the sale, 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. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of AAPL opened at $242.70 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $239.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $229.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $260.10. The company has a market capitalization of $3.67 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.92, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted 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 return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The firm had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.46 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.45%.

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.