Waycross Investment Management Co Sells 1,436 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Waycross Investment Management Co trimmed its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 13.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 9,327 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,436 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 2.0% of Waycross Investment Management Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Waycross Investment Management Co’s holdings in Apple were worth $2,173,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 31,278 shares in the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the first quarter worth about $140,000. Hoese & Co LLP increased its stake in shares of Apple by 6.7% during the second quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 912 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $175,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sage Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $228.44 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $237.49. The stock has a market cap of $3.45 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.57, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $227.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $217.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The firm had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $265.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. New Street Research reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Apple from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer restated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total transaction of $13,802,497.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 187,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,309,126.60. This trade represents a 24.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total transaction 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 approximately $736,269,202.80. This trade represents a 6.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 408,170 shares of company stock worth $92,007,745. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.