Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Brooktree Capital Management

Brooktree Capital Management cut its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 13.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,103 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,546 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 1.9% of Brooktree Capital Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Brooktree Capital Management’s holdings in Apple were worth $2,354,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Curi RMB Capital LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC now owns 334,583 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $77,958,000 after purchasing an additional 22,880 shares in the last quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp lifted its stake in Apple by 23.0% during the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 26,978 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,286,000 after purchasing an additional 5,046 shares in the last quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Apple by 2.4% during the third quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. now owns 17,171 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,001,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its position in shares of Apple by 3.8% during the third quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 106,630 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $24,845,000 after acquiring an additional 3,924 shares during the period. Finally, BCM Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 2.5% during the third quarter. BCM Advisors LLC now owns 8,736 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,940,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $273.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Apple to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Loop Capital cut shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $238.02.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL opened at $222.64 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $241.12 and a 200-day moving average of $230.85. The company has a market capitalization of $3.35 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.62, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. The company 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 company’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.45%.

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.