Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Exeter Financial LLC

Exeter Financial LLC reduced its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 43,530 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 725 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 4.5% of Exeter Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Exeter Financial LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $10,143,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of AAPL. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Apple by 127.4% during the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 75,479 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $12,943,000 after purchasing an additional 42,282 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the first quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 506,642 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $86,879,000 after buying an additional 1,936 shares in the last quarter. Tobam raised its position in Apple by 3.9% during the first quarter. Tobam now owns 21,459 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,680,000 after buying an additional 810 shares during the period. BNP Paribas purchased a new stake in Apple in the 1st quarter worth about $88,000,000. Finally, Alliance Wealth Management Group boosted its position in Apple by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group now owns 30,094 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,160,000 after acquiring an additional 755 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Up 0.6 %

AAPL stock opened at $229.87 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $3.47 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.24. 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 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $237.49. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $227.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $218.30.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $94.93 billion for 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 payout ratio is presently 16.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $273.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. KeyCorp cut Apple from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Melius Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. New Street Research reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price target on Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total transaction of $13,802,497.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 187,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,309,126.60. This represents a 24.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,528,946.53. The trade was a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 408,170 shares of company stock valued at $92,007,745. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.