Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Cut by Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC

Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 139,259 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 334 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 5.3% of Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $29,331,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter worth $3,026,492,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 23,076.4% during the first quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC now owns 9,240,214 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,584,512,000 after purchasing an additional 9,200,345 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in Apple by 158.3% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 11,532,438 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,977,582,000 after purchasing an additional 7,067,379 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 161.2% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,759,445 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,502,068,000 after purchasing an additional 5,405,542 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis increased its position in Apple by 127.7% during the 1st quarter. Natixis now owns 4,632,987 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $794,465,000 after purchasing an additional 2,598,742 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $236.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. New Street Research restated a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Melius Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.27.

Apple Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Apple stock opened at $236.48 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.63 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $237.49. The business’s fifty day moving average is $226.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $208.86.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. Apple had a return on equity of 147.15% and a net margin of 26.44%. The firm had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $84.43 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.26 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total value of $20,644,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at $39,542,136.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total transaction of $1,121,037.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 24,125 shares in the company, valued at $5,223,062.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total value of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 517,924 shares of company stock valued at $114,786,399. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.