Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Trimmed by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. cut its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 6.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 34,054,055 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,444,201 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 5.3% of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned about 0.22% of Apple worth $7,172,465,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the first quarter worth $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 17.9% during the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 31,278 shares during the period. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 657.1% during the fourth quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 368 shares during the period. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $85,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total transaction of $20,644,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,542,136.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total transaction of $20,644,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total value of $1,121,037.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 24,125 shares in the company, valued at $5,223,062.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 113,884 shares of company stock worth $23,723,887 over the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $216.79 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $237.23. The company’s 50-day moving average is $222.67 and its 200 day moving average is $199.26. The company has a market capitalization of $3.32 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.43 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 147.15%. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.26 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $170.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday. Moffett Nathanson started coverage on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, August 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $211.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $239.17.

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.