Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. decreased its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 26.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 238,557 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 85,050 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 4.6% of China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Apple were worth $48,945,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 573,627.2% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth approximately $38,942,255,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the first quarter valued at approximately $17,472,482,000. PKS Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 98,917.0% in the 2nd quarter. PKS Advisory Services LLC now owns 57,956,620 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $12,106,000 after acquiring an additional 57,898,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Apple by 20,464.8% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,069,029 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,553,753,000 after acquiring an additional 26,937,401 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total transaction of $33,375,798.03. Following the transaction, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.39, for a total value of $1,038,790.61. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,168,373.35. This trade represents a 32.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 228,052 shares of company stock valued at $58,604,588. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. HSBC set a $220.00 price objective on Apple and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Wedbush set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $298.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Phillip Securities cut shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating and set a $200.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $282.51.

Apple Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $274.11 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.05 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $268.59 and its 200-day moving average is $237.81. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $288.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.11. Apple had a net margin of 26.92% and a return on equity of 164.05%. The business had revenue of $102.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.64 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

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.