Financial Freedom LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Financial Freedom LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,530 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 263 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 1.5% of Financial Freedom LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Financial Freedom LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $2,887,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 20,372.7% in the third 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Apple by 10.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 584,010,284 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $136,074,372,000 after buying an additional 55,935,105 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 6.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 333,857,500 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $77,542,863,000 after buying an additional 20,483,787 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 5.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 363,859,362 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $84,779,231,000 after buying an additional 18,224,005 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 6.6% in the third 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 buying an additional 5,893,741 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $239.07 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.59 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.95, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s fifty day moving average is $237.56 and its 200 day moving average is $234.03. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.08 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

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%. Research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Argus upgraded Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup increased their target price on Apple from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.88.

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.