Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Mathes Company Inc.

Mathes Company Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 58,743 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 5,618 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 4.8% of Mathes Company Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Mathes Company Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $13,687,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Apple by 1.7% in the third quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 64,015 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $14,916,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066 shares during the period. Granite Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Apple by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC now owns 289,421 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $60,958,000 after purchasing an additional 7,606 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp boosted its stake in Apple by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 6,994,703 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,473,224,000 after purchasing an additional 126,210 shares during the period. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 69,824 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $16,269,000 after acquiring an additional 2,565 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Apple by 5.2% in the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,928,110 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $406,099,000 after purchasing an additional 95,235 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $243.36 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $238.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $228.87. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.68 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.03, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The company 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 firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. New Street Research reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Apple from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $236.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $238.03.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of Apple 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.