Auxier Asset Management Sells 1,495 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Auxier Asset Management trimmed its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,445 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,495 shares during the period. Auxier Asset Management’s holdings in Apple were worth $6,395,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 5.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 363,859,362 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $84,779,231,000 after acquiring an additional 18,224,005 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 94,942,731 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $22,121,656,000 after acquiring an additional 5,893,741 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 20,372.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 94,347,510 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $219,829,700,000 after acquiring an additional 93,886,664 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Apple by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 91,568,390 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $21,335,435,000 after purchasing an additional 1,742,087 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Apple by 1.9% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 58,615,053 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,657,308,000 after purchasing an additional 1,112,033 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $233.22 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $241.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $230.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.51 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.33 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $253.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Maxim Group raised their price target on Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $242.52.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of Apple 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.