Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Cypress Capital Group’s 2nd Largest Position

Cypress Capital Group reduced its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 211,745 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,441 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 5.5% of Cypress Capital Group’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Cypress Capital Group’s holdings in Apple were worth $49,337,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Apple by 20,372.7% during 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. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Apple by 5.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 52,981,808 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $11,160,183,000 after purchasing an additional 2,785,807 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 6.7% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 51,765,589 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $10,909,457,000 after purchasing an additional 3,245,281 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Apple by 3.2% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 34,619,614 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $7,291,583,000 after buying an additional 1,065,759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Apple by 1.3% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 34,486,195 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,035,283,000 after buying an additional 432,140 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction of $945,233.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the company’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 value of $24,997,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $237.62 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $241.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $230.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market cap of $3.57 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. As a group, research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be 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%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 16.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Maxim Group boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Apple to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $188.00 price target (down previously from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $238.05.

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.