Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Position Lessened by Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc

Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc reduced its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 10.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 945,378 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 107,958 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 4.4% of Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc’s holdings in Apple were worth $220,273,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lantz Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 29,751 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,266,000 after buying an additional 2,361 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in Apple by 0.8% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 6,202,902 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,306,455,000 after acquiring an additional 48,719 shares during the last quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services raised its position in Apple by 3.1% during the second quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services now owns 124,883 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $26,303,000 after purchasing an additional 3,727 shares in the last quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 5.6% during the second quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 28,773 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,060,000 after purchasing an additional 1,529 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneva Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 2,181.9% in the 2nd quarter. Geneva Partners LLC now owns 63,826 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $13,443,000 after purchasing an additional 61,029 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $273.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Apple to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $236.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Moffett Nathanson reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $188.00 target price (down previously from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Apple to $184.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $239.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. The trade was a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $229.98 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $241.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $230.79. The company has a market capitalization of $3.48 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The business 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 company earned $1.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s payout ratio is 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.