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

WealthPLAN Partners LLC lowered its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 26.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 234,352 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 82,210 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 7.3% of WealthPLAN Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. WealthPLAN Partners LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $54,604,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Waverton Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of Apple by 3.8% in the third quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 419,435 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $97,726,000 after buying an additional 15,413 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 2.5% in the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 660,153 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $153,816,000 after buying an additional 16,091 shares in the last quarter. Vestia Personal Wealth Advisors grew its stake in shares of Apple by 4.2% in the third quarter. Vestia Personal Wealth Advisors now owns 8,591 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,002,000 after buying an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Investment Management Associates Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the third quarter valued at about $298,000. Finally, Once Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 211.8% in the third quarter. Once Capital Management LLC now owns 197,850 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $46,099,000 after buying an additional 134,400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of Apple stock opened at $229.98 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $241.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $230.72. 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.46 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.83, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.46 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 16.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AAPL. Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $273.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Wedbush raised their price objective on Apple from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Apple to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $239.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of Apple 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 directly owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,528,946.53. The trade was a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of Apple 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. The trade was 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.

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.