abrdn plc Reduces Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

abrdn plc trimmed its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,056,597 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 759,800 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 5.7% of abrdn plc’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. abrdn plc owned 0.08% of Apple worth $3,030,004,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Paul R. Ried Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $11,203,000. Trust Point Inc. grew its holdings in Apple by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 130,045 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $32,566,000 after buying an additional 7,813 shares in the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Apple by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 52,102 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $13,047,000 after buying an additional 543 shares during the period. GEN Financial Management INC. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $462,000. Finally, Vantage Point Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,521,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $262.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, January 27th. Moffett Nathanson reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $188.00 target price (down previously from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Loop Capital cut shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $245.52.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $223.89 on Thursday. 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 $164.08 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.36 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $230.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $233.36.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. 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.