PFG Investments LLC Sells 6,490 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

PFG Investments LLC reduced its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 589,355 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 6,490 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 8.9% of PFG Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. PFG Investments LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $137,320,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Apple by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 289,507 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $60,976,000 after purchasing an additional 1,901 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its holdings in Apple by 3.6% during the second quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 583,048 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $122,802,000 after buying an additional 20,160 shares during the last quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter worth about $5,241,000. New England Research & Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter. New England Research & Management Inc. now owns 36,253 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $7,636,000 after acquiring an additional 3,551 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. raised its position in shares of Apple by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 289,575 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $60,990,000 after acquiring an additional 2,333 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $258.20 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $235.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $226.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $258.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.90 trillion, a P/E ratio of 42.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.39%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Moffett Nathanson lowered their target price on shares of Apple from $211.00 to $202.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $205.00 to $212.92 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Maxim Group lifted their target price on Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer restated a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.78.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 508,170 shares of company stock worth $117,004,745. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.