Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Has $654.64 Million Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lowered its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,809,605 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 97,819 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 7.2% of Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $654,638,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the second quarter worth $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its position in shares of Apple by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Hoese & Co LLP grew its stake in shares of Apple by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 912 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $175,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Sage Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at about $206,000. Finally, Benchmark Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $208,000. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $237.33 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $237.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $229.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $220.02. The firm has a market cap of $3.59 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.03, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.46 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 16.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on AAPL. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Apple to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.68.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total transaction of $13,802,497.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 187,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,309,126.60. This represents a 24.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total value of $50,275,897.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $736,269,202.80. The trade was a 6.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 408,170 shares of company stock valued at $92,007,745. Company 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.