Apple Inc. $AAPL Holdings Cut by Darden Wealth Group Inc

Darden Wealth Group Inc reduced its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 35,748 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 3,958 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 4.4% of Darden Wealth Group Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Darden Wealth Group Inc’s holdings in Apple were worth $7,334,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Apple by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,400,790,809 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $311,157,662,000 after acquiring an additional 5,005,297 shares during the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 573,627.2% in the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 205,692,660 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $39,065,374,000 after purchasing an additional 205,656,808 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Apple by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,918,365,000 after purchasing an additional 20,079,472 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Apple by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 104,706,358 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $26,220,566,000 after buying an additional 13,137,968 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Apple by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 98,099,909 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $21,790,933,000 after buying an additional 984,157 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. CLSA raised shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, October 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 9th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Melius Research set a $345.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Apple from $298.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.22.

Apple Stock Up 0.2%

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $277.55 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $280.38. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $261.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $230.80. The stock has a market cap of $4.10 trillion, a PE ratio of 42.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $102.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.65 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.64 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th were given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.92%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total transaction of $11,071,116.07. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,181,866.93. The trade was a 23.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total value of $12,101,228.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 179,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,005,982.82. This trade represents a 20.83% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 228,052 shares of company stock valued at $58,604,588. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.