Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Prio Wealth Limited Partnership’s Largest Position

Prio Wealth Limited Partnership cut its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 6.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,321,332 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 97,161 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 8.3% of Prio Wealth Limited Partnership’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership’s holdings in Apple were worth $278,299,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the first quarter valued at about $3,026,492,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 14,145.8% during the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 7,612,261 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,603,000 after buying an additional 7,558,826 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Apple by 158.3% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 11,532,438 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,977,582,000 after buying an additional 7,067,379 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 161.2% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,759,445 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,502,068,000 after buying an additional 5,405,542 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter valued at about $834,368,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $225.00 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.40 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.01, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $227.04 and a 200 day moving average of $216.61. 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 one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $237.49.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.52 billion. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a $0.25 dividend. 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 payout ratio is presently 16.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on AAPL. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $273.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Apple from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Apple to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.51.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,730 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.86, for a total transaction of $13,550,347.80. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $111,148,695.84. The trade was a 10.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 6.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 404,040 shares of company stock valued at $91,062,512. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.