NORTHSTAR ASSET MANAGEMENT Co Cuts Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

NORTHSTAR ASSET MANAGEMENT Co trimmed its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 10.1% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 164,037 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 18,475 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 7.7% of NORTHSTAR ASSET MANAGEMENT Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. NORTHSTAR ASSET MANAGEMENT Co’s holdings in Apple were worth $33,655,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. CNB Bank boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 53,971 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $11,073,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the period. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co increased its stake in Apple by 48.7% in the second quarter. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co now owns 223,000 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $45,753,000 after purchasing an additional 73,000 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Management Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth $2,528,000. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 8.5% during the second quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 137,200 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $28,149,000 after purchasing an additional 10,720 shares during the period. Finally, DDD Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 1.0% during the second quarter. DDD Partners LLC now owns 157,356 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $32,285,000 after purchasing an additional 1,518 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $276.97 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.09 trillion, a PE ratio of 42.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $280.38. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $261.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $230.47.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $279.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. CLSA raised shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, October 5th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on Apple from $241.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Apple from $298.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, October 27th. Three 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 issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.22.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $35,181,866.93. The trade was a 23.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,005,982.82. The trade was a 20.83% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 228,052 shares of company stock worth $58,604,588. 0.06% of the stock is 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.