Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Reduced by MGB Wealth Management LLC

MGB Wealth Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 8.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,828 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,518 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 2.4% of MGB Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. MGB Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $6,697,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Bull Oak Capital LLC increased its position in Apple by 252.3% in the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its stake in Apple by 88.9% in the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at about $110,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. grew its position in shares of Apple by 34.3% during the third quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 678 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $158,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total value of $13,433,768.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,416,137.76. This represents a 35.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. This represents a 6.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 408,170 shares of company stock worth $92,007,745 in the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on AAPL. Moffett Nathanson lowered their target price on Apple from $211.00 to $202.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Evercore ISI reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $236.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $273.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Melius Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Two investment 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. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.68.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $243.04 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.67 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $230.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $221.05. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $244.54. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The company had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.46 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. Apple’s payout ratio is 16.45%.

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.