Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Position Lessened by Bridges Investment Management Inc.

Bridges Investment Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,765,460 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 32,880 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 5.8% of Bridges Investment Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Bridges Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $411,352,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Lantz Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 8.6% during the second quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 29,751 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,266,000 after purchasing an additional 2,361 shares during the period. Unique Wealth LLC boosted its position in Apple by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter. Unique Wealth LLC now owns 19,553 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,119,000 after buying an additional 1,526 shares during the period. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners grew its holdings in Apple by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners now owns 19,335 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,072,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. increased its position in shares of Apple by 19.3% in the second quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 232,788 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $47,865,000 after acquiring an additional 37,601 shares during the period. Finally, TCW Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 2.9% during the second quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 538,410 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $113,400,000 after acquiring an additional 15,399 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AAPL. StockNews.com lowered Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $273.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, December 13th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Moffett Nathanson reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $188.00 target price (down from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $239.85.

Insider Activity

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

Apple Trading Up 2.0 %

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $237.87 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $240.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $230.52. The stock has a market cap of $3.58 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.12, 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 issued its 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. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The business had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.52 billion. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.46 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 0.42%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s payout ratio is 16.45%.

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.