Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. Decreases Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 76.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 930 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,950 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Apple were worth $217,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bull Oak Capital LLC raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. ARK Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter worth about $110,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 34.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 678 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $158,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Stock Down 3.2 %

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $222.64 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The stock has a market cap of $3.35 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.62, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $241.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $230.85.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 16.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut Apple from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $211.84 to $200.75 in a report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. New Street Research reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Raymond James increased their target price on Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Loop Capital cut Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $238.02.

Apple Company 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.