Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Decreased by Redwood Investment Management LLC

Redwood Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 66.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,748 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 69,616 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 0.7% of Redwood Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Redwood Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $8,061,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Heritage Family Offices LLP acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,331,000. Equita Financial Network Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 50.2% during the second quarter. Equita Financial Network Inc. now owns 4,792 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,009,000 after acquiring an additional 1,601 shares during the period. MUFG Securities EMEA plc increased its stake in shares of Apple by 2,278.2% during the second quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 350,000 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $73,717,000 after acquiring an additional 335,283 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Apple by 19.7% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,014,406 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $213,654,000 after acquiring an additional 166,794 shares during the period. Finally, Austin Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 2.8% during the second quarter. Austin Wealth Management LLC now owns 24,374 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,547,000 after acquiring an additional 672 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related 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 value of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of Apple 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 $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $236.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 20th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Moffett Nathanson reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $188.00 price objective (down from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $242.52.

Apple Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of AAPL opened at $227.63 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $241.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $231.04. The firm has a market cap of $3.42 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. On average, equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.87%.

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.