Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Holdings Cut by Argent Capital Management LLC

Argent Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 673,706 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 8,564 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 4.3% of Argent Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Argent Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $156,974,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its position in shares of Apple by 88.9% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Cordant Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 34.3% in the third quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 678 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $158,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Hoese & Co LLP grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sage Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Apple during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $206,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on AAPL shares. Oppenheimer restated a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Monness Crespi & Hardt reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, New Street Research reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.78.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $254.49 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $234.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $225.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The firm has a market cap of $3.85 trillion, a P/E ratio of 41.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $255.00.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.46 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect 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 $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.39%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 16.45%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 508,170 shares of company stock worth $117,004,745 over the last 90 days. Company 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.