Waycross Investment Management Co Reduces Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Waycross Investment Management Co lowered its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,327 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,436 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 2.0% of Waycross Investment Management Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Waycross Investment Management Co’s holdings in Apple were worth $2,173,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 17.9% in the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 31,278 shares during the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Apple in the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Access Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Apple during the 1st quarter worth about $140,000. Hoese & Co LLP grew its holdings in Apple by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 912 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $175,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sage Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at about $206,000. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $228.44 on Friday. 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 $237.49. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $227.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $217.47. The company has a market cap of $3.45 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share 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 firm 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 earned $1.46 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 16.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Apple to $236.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $205.00 to $212.92 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $285.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.25.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,730 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.86, for a total value of $13,550,347.80. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $111,148,695.84. The trade was a 10.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 408,170 shares of company stock valued at $92,007,745. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.