Rise Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Rise Advisors LLC reduced its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,452 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 48 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 0.5% of Rise Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Rise Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,037,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 127.4% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 75,479 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $12,943,000 after buying an additional 42,282 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 37.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 278,379 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $47,736,000 after acquiring an additional 75,939 shares in the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 3,199.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,666,108 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $285,704,000 after purchasing an additional 1,615,618 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Apple by 7.9% during the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 1,010,341 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $173,253,000 after purchasing an additional 73,898 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avalon Trust Co grew its stake in Apple by 7.5% in the first quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 465,766 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $79,870,000 after purchasing an additional 32,639 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. The trade was a 6.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total transaction of $13,802,497.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 187,043 shares in the company, valued at $42,309,126.60. This trade represents a 24.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 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 Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $239.59 on Tuesday. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $240.79. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $229.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $220.02. The company has a market cap of $3.62 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 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 (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. The business 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast 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 given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Loop Capital reduced their price target on Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Monness Crespi & Hardt reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, September 9th. StockNews.com lowered Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Maxim Group upped their target price on shares of Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the company 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.68.

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.