Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. reduced its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 558,167 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 11,167 shares during the period. Apple makes up 5.5% of J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $117,561,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in Apple by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 37,146,325 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,369,852,000 after acquiring an additional 2,474,887 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 34,619,614 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $7,291,583,000 after purchasing an additional 1,065,759 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 29,515,371 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,061,296,000 after buying an additional 485,873 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in Apple by 13.4% during the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 20,008,650 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,214,222,000 after buying an additional 2,359,409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Apple by 16.8% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 17,993,042 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,085,427,000 after buying an additional 2,594,138 shares during the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer reissued a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays reduced their price objective on Apple from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price target on Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Moffett Nathanson initiated coverage on Apple in a report on Monday, August 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $211.00 price objective for the company. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given 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 a consensus price target of $236.23.

Apple Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $222.91 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $3.39 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.93, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $227.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $212.03. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $237.49.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 147.15% and a net margin of 26.44%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.22%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total value of $13,433,768.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,416,137.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total value of $13,433,768.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,416,137.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 517,924 shares of company stock worth $114,786,399. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.