Sage Capital Advisors llc Reduces Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Sage Capital Advisors llc cut its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 167,854 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 8,244 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 10.2% of Sage Capital Advisors llc’s holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Sage Capital Advisors llc’s holdings in Apple were worth $39,110,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the second quarter valued at $42,000. Hoese & Co LLP grew its stake in Apple by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 912 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $175,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Sage Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at about $206,000. Benchmark Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the second quarter worth approximately $208,000. Finally, SMH Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth approximately $209,000. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $232.87 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.52 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.30, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.24. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $237.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $228.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $218.64.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The business had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s payout ratio is 16.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,528,946.53. The trade was a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total value of $13,802,497.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 187,043 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,309,126.60. This represents a 24.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 408,170 shares of company stock valued at $92,007,745. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on Apple to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Oppenheimer reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $205.00 to $212.92 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Maxim Group boosted their price target on Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.25.

About Apple

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.