Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 99,898 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 718 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 3.1% of Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $23,276,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC grew its position in Apple by 1.7% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 2.7% during the second quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC now owns 289,421 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $60,958,000 after buying an additional 7,606 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 126,210 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC increased its position 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 during the period. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in Apple by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 96,589 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $22,505,000 after acquiring an additional 3,935 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $242.70 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.67 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $239.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $229.66.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AAPL. Evercore ISI reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Apple to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Moffett Nathanson reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $188.00 price objective (down from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wedbush boosted their target price on Apple from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $237.64.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.