Apple Inc. $AAPL Stake Reduced by Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp decreased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,063,214 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 66,478 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 4.3% of Fifth Third Bancorp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,243,990,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC now owns 13,815 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,260,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Salus Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 3.9% during the first quarter. Salus Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $291,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Sharpepoint LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 3.5% during the first quarter. Sharpepoint LLC now owns 1,523 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $322,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp raised its position in shares of Apple by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 8,720 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,184,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mission Hills Financial Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 1.3% during the first quarter. Mission Hills Financial Advisory LLC now owns 4,016 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $892,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total transaction of $12,101,228.75. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 179,158 shares in the company, valued at $46,005,982.82. This represents a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total transaction of $11,071,116.07. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,181,866.93. This trade represents a 23.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 254,922 shares of company stock worth $64,320,190. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Stock Up 0.3%

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $258.02 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The company has a 50-day moving average of $233.09 and a 200 day moving average of $214.69. The firm has a market cap of $3.83 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.4%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AAPL. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley set a $298.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI set a $290.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Moffett Nathanson raised shares of Apple from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $247.49.

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.