Blueshift Asset Management LLC Cuts Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Blueshift Asset Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 26.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,684 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 4,557 shares during the period. Apple comprises 0.7% of Blueshift Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Blueshift Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $2,955,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bull Oak Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 252.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the second quarter valued at $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its position in shares of Apple by 88.9% in the 3rd 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 position in Apple during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $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 valued at $158,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Apple from $280.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Apple from $273.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $242.52.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of Apple 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Stock Up 2.1 %

AAPL stock opened at $232.80 on Wednesday. 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 $3.50 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $241.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $230.89.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued 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 0.43%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.87%.

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.