Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Marks Group Wealth Management Inc

Marks Group Wealth Management Inc cut its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 103,325 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 844 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 2.3% of Marks Group Wealth Management Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc’s holdings in Apple were worth $24,075,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Apple by 20,372.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 94,347,510 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $219,829,700,000 after purchasing an additional 93,886,664 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 14,145.8% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 7,612,261 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,603,000 after purchasing an additional 7,558,826 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its position in Apple by 22,870.6% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 5,590,588 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,302,607,000 after buying an additional 5,566,250 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the second quarter worth $834,368,000. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its position in shares of Apple by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 27,882,996 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,496,738,000 after buying an additional 3,416,922 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Apple from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $273.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, December 13th. New Street Research restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $237.64.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL opened at $242.70 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.67 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.92, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $239.91 and a 200-day moving average of $229.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $260.10.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 16.45%.

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.