Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc.

Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. reduced its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,739 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 49 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 0.5% of Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $2,735,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its position in Apple by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. Cordant Inc. grew its stake in Apple by 34.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 678 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $158,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Hoese & Co LLP increased its position in Apple by 6.7% in the second quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 912 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $175,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, Sage Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Apple in the second quarter valued at $206,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock opened at $255.27 on Tuesday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $255.65. The company’s 50-day moving average is $234.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $225.91. 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 company has a market cap of $3.86 trillion, a PE ratio of 41.99, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $94.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.46 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.39%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 16.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AAPL. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup raised their target price on Apple to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered shares of Apple from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, October 25th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.78.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 508,170 shares of company stock valued at $117,004,745 in the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.