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

Rise Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,452 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 48 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 0.5% of Rise Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Rise Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,037,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 127.4% during the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 75,479 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $12,943,000 after acquiring an additional 42,282 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Apple by 37.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 278,379 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $47,736,000 after acquiring an additional 75,939 shares during the period. Capital Wealth Planning LLC increased its stake in Apple by 3,199.9% during the first quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,666,108 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $285,704,000 after acquiring an additional 1,615,618 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 1,010,341 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $173,253,000 after purchasing an additional 73,898 shares during the period. Finally, Avalon Trust Co grew its stake in Apple by 7.5% during the first quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 465,766 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $79,870,000 after buying an additional 32,639 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $239.59 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $229.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $220.02. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $240.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.62 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 16.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AAPL. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the company from $205.00 to $212.92 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Evercore ISI restated a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, November 1st. Melius Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $265.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Apple to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.68.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 187,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,309,126.60. This trade represents a 24.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 408,170 shares of company stock valued at $92,007,745 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple 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.