Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Position Lessened by Romano Brothers AND Company

Romano Brothers AND Company trimmed its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 109,727 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,020 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 3.2% of Romano Brothers AND Company’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Romano Brothers AND Company’s holdings in Apple were worth $25,566,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Apple by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 761,774 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $130,629,000 after purchasing an additional 17,519 shares during the last quarter. PGGM Investments increased its stake in shares of Apple by 13.7% in the 1st quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 991,643 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $170,047,000 after purchasing an additional 119,866 shares in the last quarter. Dodds Wealth LLC lifted its position in Apple by 6.6% during the first quarter. Dodds Wealth LLC now owns 12,707 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,179,000 after purchasing an additional 784 shares in the last quarter. Invst LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Invst LLC now owns 49,814 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,470,000 after buying an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Advisor Networks LLC raised its stake in Apple by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 2,568,133 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $440,383,000 after acquiring an additional 29,162 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $205.00 to $212.92 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Loop Capital decreased their price target on Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Monness Crespi & Hardt reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $265.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.78.

Apple Stock Up 1.9 %

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $254.49 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $255.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.85 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.86, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a fifty day moving average of $234.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $225.70.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.39%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 16.45%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was 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 $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. The trade was a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 508,170 shares of company stock valued at $117,004,745. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.