Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Jensen Investment Management Inc.

Jensen Investment Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,667,698 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 216,385 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 7.1% of Jensen Investment Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Jensen Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $854,574,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bull Oak Capital LLC grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the second quarter worth $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its position in Apple by 88.9% during the third 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. ARK Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Apple during the third quarter worth $110,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 34.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 678 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $158,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 0.8 %

AAPL opened at $229.98 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $240.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $230.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.48 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.83, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20. 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 (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.46 EPS. Apple’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.45%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other 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 value of $945,233.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,528,946.53. This represents 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 firm’s stock in a transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $256.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Apple to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Maxim Group lifted their price objective on Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. KeyCorp cut Apple from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $236.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Three investment 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $239.85.

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.