Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Invesco LLC

Invesco LLC lowered its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,247 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 286 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 4.9% of Invesco LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Invesco LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $12,407,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Apple by 20,372.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 94,347,510 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $219,829,700,000 after acquiring an additional 93,886,664 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $1,603,000 after purchasing an additional 7,558,826 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 22,870.6% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 5,590,588 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,302,607,000 after purchasing an additional 5,566,250 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth about $834,368,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Apple by 6.7% in 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 buying an additional 3,245,281 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $243.36 on Friday. 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 has a market cap of $3.68 trillion, a PE ratio of 40.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $238.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $228.87. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The business had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. The business’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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.41%. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 16.45%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly 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. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on AAPL shares. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $236.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Maxim Group upped their price target on shares of Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $273.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Apple to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price target on Apple from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given 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 MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $238.03.

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.