Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Lessened by Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC

Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 342,317 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 412 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 3.7% of Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $79,760,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Swedbank AB bought a new position in Apple in the first quarter worth approximately $3,026,492,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 14,145.8% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 7,612,261 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,603,000 after purchasing an additional 7,558,826 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 7,067,379 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 5,405,542 shares during the period. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the second quarter worth about $834,368,000. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,730 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $111,148,695.84. The trade was a 10.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 value of $50,275,897.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at $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 sold 408,170 shares of company stock valued at $92,007,745. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AAPL. Loop Capital cut their price objective on Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. KeyCorp cut shares of Apple from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, October 25th. New Street Research reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Evercore ISI reissued a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday. Two research 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.68.

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock opened at $237.33 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $237.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.59 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s 50-day moving average is $229.02 and its 200 day moving average is $220.02.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.46 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. Apple’s payout ratio is 16.45%.

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.