BNP Paribas Sells 14,009 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

BNP Paribas lessened its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 473,816 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 14,009 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 4.6% of BNP Paribas’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. BNP Paribas’ holdings in Apple were worth $109,906,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 64,015 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $14,916,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066 shares in the last quarter. Amara Financial LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the third quarter worth about $288,000. Granite Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.7% during the second quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC now owns 289,421 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $60,958,000 after buying an additional 7,606 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp raised its position in Apple by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 6,994,703 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,473,224,000 after buying an additional 126,210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Investment Counsel LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 69,824 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $16,269,000 after acquiring an additional 2,565 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL opened at $232.80 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.50 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s fifty day moving average is $241.58 and its 200-day moving average is $230.89. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. Sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.87%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $253.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Apple from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $242.52.

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.