Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 488,301 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,142,552 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 488,301 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 2.3% of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Apple were worth $1,053,796,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First National Bank of Hutchinson raised its position in Apple by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,845,000 after buying an additional 6,982 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Apple by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $13,544,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $134,554,000 after acquiring an additional 69,207 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $16,742,000 after purchasing an additional 2,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE lifted its position in shares of Apple by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $12,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,155 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL opened at $274.11 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $288.62. The business has a 50 day moving average of $268.59 and a 200-day moving average of $237.81. The stock has a market cap of $4.05 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.69, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.10.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.11. Apple had a return on equity of 164.05% and a net margin of 26.92%.The business had revenue of $102.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 3,752 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.23, for a total value of $1,017,654.96. Following the transaction, the insider owned 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,095,030.54. This represents a 19.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total value of $33,375,798.03. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 228,052 shares of company stock worth $58,604,588 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $325.00 target price (up previously from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. CLSA raised their price objective on Apple from $265.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. DA Davidson upped their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Phillip Securities cut Apple from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating and set a $200.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on Apple from $241.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $282.51.

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.