Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Reduced by Ignite Planners LLC

Ignite Planners LLC decreased its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 71,707 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 9,524 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 3.8% of Ignite Planners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Ignite Planners LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $16,708,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 31,278 shares in the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the second quarter valued at $42,000. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the first quarter valued at $140,000. Hoese & Co LLP boosted its stake in Apple by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 912 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $175,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sage Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter worth about $206,000. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $229.87 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $227.73 and a 200-day moving average of $218.06. The stock has a market cap of $3.47 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $237.49.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.46 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Melius Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Monness Crespi & Hardt reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, September 9th. Moffett Nathanson dropped their price objective on shares of Apple from $211.00 to $202.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Oppenheimer reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their target price on Apple from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.25.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,528,946.53. The trade was a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,730 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.86, for a total value of $13,550,347.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,944 shares in the company, valued at $111,148,695.84. The trade was a 10.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 408,170 shares of company stock valued at $92,007,745. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.