Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC

Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC decreased its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 755,304 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 8,808 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 3.4% of Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $175,986,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Apple by 0.5% in the third quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,654 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,249,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 1.3% in the third quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,489 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $813,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Verus Financial Partners Inc. grew its holdings in Apple by 0.3% in the second quarter. Verus Financial Partners Inc. now owns 16,929 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,566,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Lowery Thomas LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 0.7% in the second quarter. Lowery Thomas LLC now owns 7,607 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,602,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Latitude Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 0.3% in the third quarter. Latitude Advisors LLC now owns 17,236 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,016,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related 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 value 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $211.84 to $200.75 in a research report on Thursday. 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. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Oppenheimer cut shares of Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $273.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $242.52.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $236.00 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The company has a market capitalization of $3.55 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.82, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $241.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $230.84.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company 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 yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.45%.

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.