Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Country Trust Bank

Country Trust Bank lessened its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.5% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 891,537 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 4,720 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 4.7% of Country Trust Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Country Trust Bank’s holdings in Apple were worth $187,776,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc acquired a new position in Apple during the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 17.9% in the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 31,278 shares during the period. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. acquired a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. raised its position in shares of Apple by 657.1% during the 4th quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $85,000. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total transaction of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total transaction of $1,958,850.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,469,275. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total transaction of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 113,884 shares of company stock valued at $23,723,887 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $222.77 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.42 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $222.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $196.53. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $237.23.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 147.15%. The company had revenue of $85.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.26 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Maxim Group lifted their price target on Apple from $195.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Cfra lifted their target price on Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Wedbush upped their price target on shares of Apple from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $237.30.

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.