Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Position Trimmed by ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. lessened its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 285,061 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,547 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 2.7% of ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $66,419,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 5.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 52,981,808 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $11,160,183,000 after purchasing an additional 2,785,807 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Apple by 6.7% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 51,765,589 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $10,909,457,000 after purchasing an additional 3,245,281 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 37,146,325 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,369,852,000 after purchasing an additional 2,474,887 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 34,619,614 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $7,291,583,000 after purchasing an additional 1,065,759 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB increased its position in shares of Apple by 13.4% during the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 20,008,650 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,214,222,000 after purchasing an additional 2,359,409 shares during the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $242.84 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $230.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $221.83. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $244.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.67 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.23.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.46 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Monness Crespi & Hardt reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Melius Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $265.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $236.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Apple to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.68.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction of $945,233.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. The trade was a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 408,170 shares of company stock valued at $92,007,745. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.