Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,949 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 689 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 1.6% of Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,949,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bull Oak Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 252.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its holdings in Apple by 88.9% in the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. Cordant Inc. grew its position in Apple by 34.3% in the third quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 678 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $158,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sage Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter valued at approximately $206,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $243.36 on Friday. 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 business’s 50-day moving average price is $238.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $228.69. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The firm has a market cap of $3.68 trillion, a P/E ratio of 40.03, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. 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. New Street Research restated a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Citigroup increased their target price on Apple to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $238.03.

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.