Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Sky Investment Group LLC

Sky Investment Group LLC reduced its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,922 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,052 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 1.6% of Sky Investment Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Sky Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $8,836,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Apple in the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,026,492,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 14,145.8% in the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 7,612,261 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,603,000 after acquiring an additional 7,558,826 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth $834,368,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Apple by 6.7% during 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. Finally, Tairen Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Apple in the second quarter valued at $588,952,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $205.00 to $212.92 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson cut their price objective on shares of Apple from $211.00 to $202.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.78.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL opened at $253.48 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.83 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.69, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $233.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $224.73. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $253.83.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.46 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total transaction of $13,802,497.80. Following the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total transaction of $50,275,897.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Company 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.