Park Avenue Securities LLC Sells 13,595 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Park Avenue Securities LLC cut its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 401,620 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 13,595 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 1.1% of Park Avenue Securities LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $93,577,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Apple by 127.4% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 75,479 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $12,943,000 after purchasing an additional 42,282 shares during the last quarter. Fountainhead AM LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Fountainhead AM LLC now owns 51,041 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,753,000 after buying an additional 2,829 shares in the last quarter. SWP Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 23.6% in the 1st quarter. SWP Financial LLC now owns 42,691 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $7,321,000 after acquiring an additional 8,158 shares during the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners grew its position in Apple by 16.7% in the first quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 71,927 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $12,334,000 after acquiring an additional 10,286 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Place Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Apple by 9.0% during the first quarter. Summit Place Financial Advisors LLC now owns 34,856 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,977,000 after acquiring an additional 2,867 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $228.28 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $227.34 and a 200-day moving average of $217.31. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $237.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.45 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.55, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.52 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.46 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s payout ratio is 16.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on AAPL. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Apple from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $273.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Maxim Group lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI restated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.25.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.86, for a total transaction of $13,550,347.80. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $111,148,695.84. This represents a 10.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction of $945,233.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 408,170 shares of company stock worth $92,007,745. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Apple Company 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.