Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Lessened by Stonebridge Capital Management Inc.

Stonebridge Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 93,883 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,050 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 8.7% of Stonebridge Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Stonebridge Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $21,875,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $140,000. Hoese & Co LLP grew its holdings in Apple by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 912 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $175,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Sage Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the second quarter worth about $206,000. Finally, Benchmark Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $208,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on AAPL shares. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Apple from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Apple to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, New Street Research reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.25.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total transaction of $50,275,897.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. This represents a 6.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 408,170 shares of company stock worth $92,007,745. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $229.87 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $227.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $218.06. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $237.49. The company has a market capitalization of $3.47 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.81, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its 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. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The company had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

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.