Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Trimmed by Castleview Partners LLC

Castleview Partners LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,116 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,476 shares during the period. Apple comprises 3.2% of Castleview Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Castleview Partners LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $5,852,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Apple by 127.4% in the 1st 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. Capital International Ltd. CA increased its position in shares of Apple by 47.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Ltd. CA now owns 108,711 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $18,642,000 after purchasing an additional 34,744 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its position in shares of Apple by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 10,470,555 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,795,491,000 after purchasing an additional 302,482 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Sarl boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 22.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Sarl now owns 195,471 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $33,519,000 after buying an additional 36,019 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JT Stratford LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 49,725 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,527,000 after buying an additional 1,561 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $248.13 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $232.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $223.88. 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 $3.75 trillion, a PE ratio of 40.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $250.80.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.40%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.45%.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total transaction of $50,275,897.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. This trade represents a 6.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total transaction of $13,802,497.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 187,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,309,126.60. This trade represents a 24.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 408,170 shares of company stock worth $92,007,745 in the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Evercore ISI restated a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 26th. StockNews.com cut shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson decreased their price target on shares of Apple from $211.00 to $202.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned 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 a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.78.

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.