Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC Sells 657 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC trimmed its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 69,959 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 657 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 9.4% of Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $16,300,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 17.9% during the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 31,278 shares during the period. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Apple in the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Apple in the first quarter valued at approximately $140,000. Hoese & Co LLP grew its position in Apple by 6.7% in the second quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 912 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $175,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sage Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Apple in the second quarter valued at approximately $206,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $228.44 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $237.49. The firm has a market cap of $3.45 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.24. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $227.59 and a 200-day moving average of $217.47.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 16.45%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total value of $13,802,497.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 187,043 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,309,126.60. This represents a 24.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 408,170 shares of company stock worth $92,007,745 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Apple to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $256.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Oppenheimer reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.25.

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.