Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Norris Perne & French LLP MI

Norris Perne & French LLP MI cut its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 81,627 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 3,410 shares during the quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI’s holdings in Apple were worth $19,019,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AAPL. Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc. now owns 28,082 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,543,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the period. Oak Ridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 7.4% in the third quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 482,411 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $112,402,000 after acquiring an additional 33,187 shares during the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Apple by 2.5% in the third quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,457 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,039,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Wealth Forward LLC increased its stake in Apple by 7.7% during the third quarter. Wealth Forward LLC now owns 12,583 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,932,000 after acquiring an additional 901 shares during the last quarter. Finally, United Asset Strategies Inc. raised its position in Apple by 15.6% in the third quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 185,643 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $43,255,000 after purchasing an additional 25,001 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the 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 $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. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $243.85 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.69 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $238.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $228.58.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The company’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. Research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt reissued a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, September 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Maxim Group boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Apple to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $236.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $237.47.

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.