Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Holdings Cut by Hancock Whitney Corp

Hancock Whitney Corp reduced its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 742,360 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,012 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 5.6% of Hancock Whitney Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in Apple were worth $172,970,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bull Oak Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 252.3% during the third 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 period. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 88.9% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. ARK Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the third quarter worth $110,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. lifted its stake in Apple by 34.3% in the third quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 678 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $158,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly 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 insiders.

Apple Trading Down 3.4 %

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $228.01 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $241.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $230.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.43 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. Research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Apple from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $211.84 to $200.75 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Apple to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $242.52.

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.