Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Ascension Capital Advisors Inc.

Ascension Capital Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,785 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 304 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 0.7% of Ascension Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Ascension Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,581,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Apple by 20,372.7% during the third 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 grew its stake 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 buying an additional 7,558,826 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 22,870.6% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 5,590,588 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,302,607,000 after buying an additional 5,566,250 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the 2nd quarter worth about $834,368,000. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its holdings in Apple by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 27,882,996 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,496,738,000 after acquiring an additional 3,416,922 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Down 2.4 %

AAPL stock opened at $236.85 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. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The company’s 50 day moving average is $240.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $230.10. The stock has a market cap of $3.58 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.96, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued 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 0.42%. Apple’s payout ratio is 16.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. KeyCorp cut shares of Apple from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, October 25th. New Street Research reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $273.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $236.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.85.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were 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 in the company, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.