WP Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

WP Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 179,483 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 342 shares during the period. Apple comprises 12.0% of WP Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. WP Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $37,803,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Apple by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,318,064,349 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $253,766,929,000 after acquiring an additional 18,067,216 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Apple in the 1st quarter worth about $3,026,492,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC raised its stake in Apple by 23,076.4% in the 1st quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC now owns 9,240,214 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,584,512,000 after acquiring an additional 9,200,345 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in Apple by 158.3% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 11,532,438 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,977,582,000 after purchasing an additional 7,067,379 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 161.2% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,759,445 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,502,068,000 after purchasing an additional 5,405,542 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Apple stock opened at $229.04 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $237.23. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $223.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $205.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.51 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.43 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 147.15%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.26 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AAPL. Piper Sandler Companies reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price target (up previously from $190.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the company from $205.00 to $212.92 in a research note on Monday. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $261.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Moffett Nathanson started coverage on Apple in a research report on Monday, August 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $211.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $239.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total value of $1,121,037.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 24,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,223,062.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total value of $1,121,037.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 24,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,223,062.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total value of $50,275,897.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $736,269,202.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 517,924 shares of company stock worth $114,786,399. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.