Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC

Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 35,748 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 443 shares during the quarter. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $8,329,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Bull Oak Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 252.3% in the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted 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 worth $69,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at about $77,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at about $110,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were 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 approximately $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $262.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Apple from $273.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Moffett Nathanson restated a “sell” rating and set a $188.00 price objective (down from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Argus raised shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $242.52.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $244.60 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $240.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $231.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.67 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.83, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.87%.

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.