Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Sells 610,768 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc decreased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,096,746 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 610,768 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 4.2% of Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned approximately 0.08% of Apple worth $2,481,889,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ryan Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Apple in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 333.3% in the second quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the first quarter worth about $58,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $277.18 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.10 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $266.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $235.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $288.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.11. Apple had a return on equity of 164.05% and a net margin of 26.92%.The firm had revenue of $102.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.65 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.64 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. 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 payout ratio is presently 13.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. DA Davidson upped their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird set a $300.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, October 31st. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $241.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $325.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $282.51.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total value of $33,375,798.03. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $842,412,558.95. This trade represents a 3.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total value of $12,101,228.75. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly 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. Insiders have sold 228,052 shares of company stock worth $58,604,588 in the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Apple 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.