Sage Capital Advisors llc Sells 8,244 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Sage Capital Advisors llc cut its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 167,854 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 8,244 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 10.2% of Sage Capital Advisors llc’s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Sage Capital Advisors llc’s holdings in Apple were worth $39,110,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Apple Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $232.87 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.52 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.24. 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 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $237.49. The company’s fifty day moving average is $228.06 and its 200-day moving average is $218.64.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The business had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.46 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 16.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on AAPL. Oppenheimer reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $273.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com cut shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $285.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued 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 issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the firm’s 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 owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. The trade was a 6.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 408,170 shares of company stock worth $92,007,745. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.