Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Holdings Lessened by Patten Group Inc.

Patten Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 81,722 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,527 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 4.1% of Patten Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Patten Group Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $17,212,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $778,000. Alpha Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Apple by 86.5% in the fourth quarter. Alpha Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,490 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $479,000 after purchasing an additional 1,155 shares during the period. Concord Wealth Partners increased its stake in Apple by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 61,641 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $11,868,000 after purchasing an additional 8,264 shares during the period. Orion Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Apple by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC now owns 66,029 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $12,712,000 after purchasing an additional 8,766 shares during the period. Finally, Howe & Rusling Inc. increased its stake in Apple by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 145,346 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $27,983,000 after purchasing an additional 544 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $1,958,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,469,275. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,542,136.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 113,884 shares of company stock worth $23,723,887. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $226.21 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $222.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $203.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $237.23. The company has a market cap of $3.47 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.06. Apple had a return on equity of 147.15% and a net margin of 26.44%. The company had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.26 EPS. Apple’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.44%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group raised their price target on Apple from $190.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Maxim Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $203.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Monness Crespi & Hardt restated a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $261.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $238.76.

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.