Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Position Lowered by Park Avenue Securities LLC

Park Avenue Securities LLC lowered its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 401,620 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 13,595 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 1.1% of Park Avenue Securities LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $93,577,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Apple by 5.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 52,981,808 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $11,160,183,000 after buying an additional 2,785,807 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 6.7% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 51,765,589 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $10,909,457,000 after acquiring an additional 3,245,281 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Apple by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 37,146,325 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,369,852,000 after purchasing an additional 2,474,887 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Apple by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 34,619,614 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $7,291,583,000 after purchasing an additional 1,065,759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in Apple by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 29,515,371 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,061,296,000 after purchasing an additional 485,873 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total transaction of $13,433,768.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,416,137.76. This trade represents a 35.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 408,170 shares of company stock valued at $92,007,745 over the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Apple Trading Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $228.28 on Wednesday. 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 $3.45 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.55, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $227.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $217.31. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $237.49.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.46 earnings per share. Apple’s quarterly revenue 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 Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price target on Apple to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Apple to $236.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated 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 assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.25.

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.