IMZ Advisory Inc Trims Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

IMZ Advisory Inc reduced its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,800 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 127 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 1.9% of IMZ Advisory Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. IMZ Advisory Inc’s holdings in Apple were worth $4,037,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Apple by 5.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 52,981,808 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $11,160,183,000 after buying an additional 2,785,807 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 51,765,589 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $10,909,457,000 after acquiring an additional 3,245,281 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of 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. boosted its position in 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. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 29,515,371 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,061,296,000 after purchasing an additional 485,873 shares in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $229.87 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $227.73 and a 200 day moving average of $218.06. 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.47 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.24. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $237.49.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.52 billion. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. Apple’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $24,416,137.76. The trade was a 35.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of Apple 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 sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 408,170 shares of company stock worth $92,007,745 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the topic of several analyst reports. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. KeyCorp downgraded Apple from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $273.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Oppenheimer reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Apple to $236.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.25.

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.