Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Holdings Decreased by Exeter Financial LLC

Exeter Financial LLC lowered its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 14.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,986 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 8,521 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 4.8% of Exeter Financial LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Exeter Financial LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $9,401,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Center For Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 53.3% in the second quarter. Center For Asset Management LLC now owns 21,898 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,247,000 after buying an additional 7,616 shares during the last quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its holdings in Apple by 8.3% in the first quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 785,000 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $129,447,000 after buying an additional 60,000 shares during the last quarter. Arista Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 1.0% in the first quarter. Arista Wealth Management LLC now owns 26,680 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,399,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in Apple by 2.3% in the first quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 3,919,534 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $646,332,000 after buying an additional 89,615 shares during the last quarter. Finally, My Personal CFO LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 4.1% in the second quarter. My Personal CFO LLC now owns 26,276 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,097,000 after buying an additional 1,047 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.51% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 1.5 %

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $179.23 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.80 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.30. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $124.17 and a 52-week high of $198.23. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $176.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $179.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.07. Apple had a net margin of 24.68% and a return on equity of 164.92%. The company had revenue of $89.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $89.34 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.29 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.05 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 13th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 10th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 65,536 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.11, for a total value of $11,279,400.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,483,548.95. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 65,536 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.11, for a total value of $11,279,400.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,483,548.95. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 31,685 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.69, for a total transaction of $5,661,792.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,237,944.09. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 439,585 shares of company stock valued at $76,485,550. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on AAPL. Credit Suisse Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, September 15th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $173.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, September 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Apple from $222.00 to $216.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $180.00 to $204.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 1st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $197.82.

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.