Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Position Lessened by Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC

Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 99,898 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 718 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 3.1% of Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $23,276,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lantz Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 8.6% in the second quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 29,751 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,266,000 after buying an additional 2,361 shares during the last quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. grew its stake in Apple by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. now owns 143,716 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $30,269,000 after acquiring an additional 12,848 shares during the period. Tsfg LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 53,451 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $11,258,000 after acquiring an additional 5,233 shares during the last quarter. Holland Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Holland Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,073 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,700,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the period. Finally, Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.9% during the second quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 51,290 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $10,803,000 after purchasing an additional 1,432 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $242.70 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $239.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $229.66. The firm has a market cap of $3.67 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 16.45%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares in the company, 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. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup upped their target price on Apple to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $205.00 to $212.92 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Moffett Nathanson restated a “sell” rating and issued a $188.00 target price (down from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Apple from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $237.64.

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.