Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc.

Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. decreased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 671,569 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 18,889 shares during the period. Apple comprises 5.0% of Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $156,476,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 127.4% in the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 75,479 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $12,943,000 after acquiring an additional 42,282 shares in the last quarter. Smart Money Group LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 28.5% during the 1st quarter. Smart Money Group LLC now owns 6,309 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,075,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC raised its position in Apple by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 674,326 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $115,633,000 after purchasing an additional 44,374 shares in the last quarter. Integrity Financial Corp WA boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Integrity Financial Corp WA now owns 29,400 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,041,000 after buying an additional 1,622 shares during the period. Finally, Patron Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.6% during the first quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 48,158 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,258,000 after buying an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Up 0.9 %

AAPL stock opened at $235.06 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.55 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a fifty day moving average of $228.43 and a 200-day moving average of $219.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $237.49.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.46 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Melius Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $265.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $256.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Apple to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Apple from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $273.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.25.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total transaction of $13,802,497.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 187,043 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,309,126.60. This trade represents a 24.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total value of $50,275,897.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. This represents a 6.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 408,170 shares of company stock worth $92,007,745 over the last three months. 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.