Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Legacy Capital Group California Inc.

Legacy Capital Group California Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 128,617 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 613 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 10.0% of Legacy Capital Group California Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its largest position. Legacy Capital Group California Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $29,968,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 1.7% in the third quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 64,015 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $14,916,000 after buying an additional 1,066 shares during the period. Granite Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 2.7% in the second quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC now owns 289,421 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $60,958,000 after acquiring an additional 7,606 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Apple by 1.8% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 6,994,703 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,473,224,000 after acquiring an additional 126,210 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC increased its position in Apple by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 69,824 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $16,269,000 after purchasing an additional 2,565 shares during the period. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,928,110 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $406,099,000 after purchasing an additional 95,235 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Trading Up 1.9 %

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $254.49 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.85 trillion, a P/E ratio of 41.86, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $234.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $225.70. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $255.00.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.39%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.45%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, 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 transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total transaction of $50,275,897.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. The trade was a 6.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 508,170 shares of company stock worth $117,004,745 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on AAPL. Melius Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Moffett Nathanson cut their price target on shares of Apple from $211.00 to $202.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. KeyCorp lowered Apple from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, October 25th. New Street Research reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Apple from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.78.

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.