Washington Trust Bank Trims Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Washington Trust Bank trimmed its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 183,241 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 3,418 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 4.1% of Washington Trust Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Washington Trust Bank’s holdings in Apple were worth $42,695,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 20,372.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 94,347,510 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $219,829,700,000 after buying an additional 93,886,664 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 14,145.8% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 7,612,261 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,603,000 after acquiring an additional 7,558,826 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 5,566,250 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Apple during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $834,368,000. Finally, National Pension Service grew its holdings in Apple by 14.0% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 27,882,996 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,496,738,000 after purchasing an additional 3,416,922 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Maxim Group raised their price objective on Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $239.85.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $236.85 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $240.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $230.22. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $260.10. The stock has a market cap of $3.58 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.46 EPS. Apple’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.45%.

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.