Highland Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Highland Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 397,229 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 3,715 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 5.3% of Highland Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $92,554,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Boston Common Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 9.5% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC now owns 203,435 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,847,000 after purchasing an additional 17,617 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,701,000. Benchmark Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Apple in the second quarter worth about $208,000. Westend Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 5,126.6% in the second quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 67,684 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $14,671,000 after buying an additional 66,389 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BancFirst Trust & Investment Management grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 22.4% during the second quarter. BancFirst Trust & Investment Management now owns 2,048 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $439,000 after buying an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $258.20 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.90 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.47, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $235.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $226.34. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $258.21.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly 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 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 analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.39%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 16.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $236.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Maxim Group upped their price target on Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. New Street Research restated a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.78.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total value of $50,275,897.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 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 firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 508,170 shares of company stock valued at $117,004,745. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.