Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC

Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC decreased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 177,531 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 7,946 shares during the period. Apple comprises 2.0% of Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $45,205,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ryan Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% in the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC boosted its holdings in Apple by 333.3% in the second quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth $65,000. Finally, Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Apple during the 1st quarter worth about $58,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,181,866.93. This trade represents a 23.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total transaction of $33,375,798.03. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $842,412,558.95. This trade represents a 3.81% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 228,052 shares of company stock valued at $58,604,588. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Phillip Securities cut shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating and set a $200.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, September 11th. HSBC set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 price objective (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on Apple from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Two equities research 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 given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $283.92.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $271.84 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $288.62. The stock has a market cap of $4.02 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $269.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $238.57.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $102.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.65 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.64 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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