Diamant Asset Management Inc. Sells 945 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Diamant Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 148,481 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 945 shares during the period. Apple comprises 21.7% of Diamant Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Diamant Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $34,596,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Bull Oak Capital LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter worth about $77,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $110,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Apple to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Apple from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $211.84 to $200.75 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays raised their price target on Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Moffett Nathanson restated a “sell” rating and set a $188.00 price target (down previously from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $242.52.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $244.60 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The stock has a market cap of $3.67 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a fifty day moving average of $240.67 and a 200-day moving average of $231.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

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 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%. As a group, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.41%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Apple 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.