Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Alerus Financial NA

Alerus Financial NA lessened its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 240,849 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 8,627 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 4.1% of Alerus Financial NA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Alerus Financial NA’s holdings in Apple were worth $56,118,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bull Oak Capital LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 252.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth approximately $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its holdings in Apple by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at $77,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at $110,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the 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 owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $227.63 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $3.42 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $241.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $230.97. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. Equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AAPL. Moffett Nathanson reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $188.00 target price (down previously from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Apple from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Raymond James boosted their price target on Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $280.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $242.52.

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.