Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Sander Capital Advisors Inc.

Sander Capital Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 149,623 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 420 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 14.4% of Sander Capital Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Sander Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $31,514,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $33,912,466,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,318,064,349 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $253,766,929,000 after purchasing an additional 18,067,216 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Apple during the first quarter worth $3,026,492,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 23,076.4% during the first quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC now owns 9,240,214 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,584,512,000 after purchasing an additional 9,200,345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in Apple by 158.3% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 11,532,438 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,977,582,000 after purchasing an additional 7,067,379 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $1,958,850.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,469,275. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total value of $20,644,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,469,275. 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 ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $222.66 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $237.23. The firm has a market cap of $3.41 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.24. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $223.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $198.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 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 business had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $84.43 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.26 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $170.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Monday, July 15th. KeyCorp reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $247.61 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Apple from $190.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $238.62.

About Apple

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.