Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Norway Savings Bank

Norway Savings Bank decreased its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,267 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 314 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 6.3% of Norway Savings Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Norway Savings Bank’s holdings in Apple were worth $11,336,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of AAPL. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Apple by 20,372.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 93,886,664 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Apple by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 584,010,284 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $136,074,372,000 after purchasing an additional 55,935,105 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Apple by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 333,857,500 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $77,542,863,000 after purchasing an additional 20,483,787 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Apple by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 363,859,362 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $84,779,231,000 after purchasing an additional 18,224,005 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its position in Apple by 14,145.8% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 7,612,261 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,603,000 after purchasing an additional 7,558,826 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Apple from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Maxim Group upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $253.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $242.52.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $244.47 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.67 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.80, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $240.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $231.94. 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 (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

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.