Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Norway Savings Bank

Norway Savings Bank lessened its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 42,227 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,265 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 4.4% of Norway Savings Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Norway Savings Bank’s holdings in Apple were worth $8,664,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% during the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Apple in the first quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Finally, HFM Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the first quarter valued at approximately $99,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, September 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $240.00 price target on Apple and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Loop Capital decreased their price target on Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 21st. HSBC set a $220.00 price target on Apple and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 price target (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $241.93.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL opened at $238.99 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $223.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $212.36. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market cap of $3.55 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.27, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.11.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.Apple’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.40 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

Apple Company 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.