Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE

Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE lowered its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 157,636 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 4,868 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 5.7% of Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE’s holdings, making the stock its largest position. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE’s holdings in Apple were worth $32,342,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Ryan Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 1,800.0% during the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Nexus Investment Management ULC grew its position in Apple by 333.3% during the 2nd quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the first quarter valued at about $58,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and set a $315.00 price target (up previously from $245.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Melius lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Melius Research set a $345.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $278.22.

Apple Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $272.41 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $277.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $255.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $226.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.03 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.34, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $102.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.65 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.64 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total transaction of $33,375,798.03. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $842,412,558.95. This trade represents a 3.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total value of $12,101,228.75. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 179,158 shares in the company, valued at $46,005,982.82. This trade represents a 20.83% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 228,052 shares of company stock valued at $58,604,588 in the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Company 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.