Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Granite Group Advisors LLC’s 3rd Largest Position

Granite Group Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 17,979 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 170 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 2.7% of Granite Group Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Granite Group Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $4,189,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Apple by 20,372.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 94,347,510 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $219,829,700,000 after buying an additional 93,886,664 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Apple by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 52,981,808 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $11,160,183,000 after purchasing an additional 2,785,807 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Apple by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 51,765,589 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $10,909,457,000 after acquiring an additional 3,245,281 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 3.2% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 34,619,614 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $7,291,583,000 after purchasing an additional 1,065,759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 27,882,996 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,496,738,000 after acquiring an additional 3,416,922 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $234.40 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $240.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $230.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.54 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.46 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal 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. 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 is currently 16.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on AAPL shares. Moffett Nathanson reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $188.00 price target (down from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $205.00 to $212.92 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.85.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.