Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Position Cut by Nordwand Advisors LLC

Nordwand Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,050 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 457 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 0.5% of Nordwand Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. Nordwand Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,876,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lantz Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 29,751 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,266,000 after acquiring an additional 2,361 shares during the period. Sinecera Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 1.1% during the second quarter. Sinecera Capital LLC now owns 9,946 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,095,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Raelipskie Partnership boosted its position in shares of Apple by 1.5% in the second quarter. Raelipskie Partnership now owns 22,899 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,823,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the period. Compton Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 10.1% in the second quarter. Compton Financial Group LLC now owns 5,446 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,147,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Everpar Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 14.5% in the second quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 45,421 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $9,567,000 after purchasing an additional 5,759 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following 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 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 firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at $97,474,301.68. The trade was 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 Trading Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $233.28 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The business’s 50-day moving average is $240.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $230.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.53 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The company 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%. Apple’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 predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. New Street Research reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 26th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Apple to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $239.85.

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.