Braun Bostich & Associates Inc. Sells 708 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Braun Bostich & Associates Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 9.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,196 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 708 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 1.2% of Braun Bostich & Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Braun Bostich & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,677,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Apple by 127.4% in the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 75,479 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $12,943,000 after purchasing an additional 42,282 shares in the last quarter. Summit Rock Advisors LP acquired a new position in Apple during the 1st quarter worth about $56,532,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in Apple during the 1st quarter worth about $7,307,000. Schneider Downs Wealth Management Advisors LP increased its position in Apple by 39.6% in the 1st quarter. Schneider Downs Wealth Management Advisors LP now owns 40,428 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,933,000 after acquiring an additional 11,477 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Berkshire Money Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 27.4% in the first quarter. Berkshire Money Management Inc. now owns 26,643 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,569,000 after acquiring an additional 5,735 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total transaction of $13,433,768.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,416,137.76. This trade represents a 35.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total value of $50,275,897.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at $736,269,202.80. The trade was a 6.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 408,170 shares of company stock worth $92,007,745 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $242.84 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.67 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.94, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.23. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $244.63. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $230.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $221.05.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.46 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on AAPL. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $273.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, November 25th. New Street Research restated a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Melius Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Moffett Nathanson reduced their price objective on shares of Apple from $211.00 to $202.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Maxim Group lifted their price objective on Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.68.

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.