Independent Investors Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Oct 16th, 2023

Independent Investors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Free Report) by 2.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,271,235 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 30,668 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 57.2% of Independent Investors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Independent Investors Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $246,581,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Apple by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,269,995,750 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $221,753,959,000 after purchasing an additional 8,734,393 shares in the last quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc boosted its stake in Apple by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 915,560,382 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $150,975,907,000 after purchasing an additional 20,424,207 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 116,483.5% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 569,554,722 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $74,002,245,000 after purchasing an additional 569,066,184 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 285,171,112 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $46,918,015,000 after purchasing an additional 2,421,295 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Apple by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 234,017,381 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $38,589,468,000 after purchasing an additional 7,736,013 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.51% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $178.85 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $124.17 and a 12 month high of $198.23. The company’s 50 day moving average is $178.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $178.59. The stock has a market cap of $2.80 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.06, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.28.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 3rd. The iPhone maker reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.07. Apple had a net margin of 24.68% and a return on equity of 164.92%. The business had revenue of $81.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.79 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.20 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 17th. Investors of record on Monday, August 14th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Piper Jaffray Companies upped their price target on shares of Apple from $180.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 31st. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $208.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, September 22nd. Credit Suisse Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, September 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Apple from $222.00 to $216.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 28th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $200.54.

View Our Latest Report on Apple

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 31,685 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.69, for a total value of $5,661,792.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,237,944.09. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 240,569 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.50, for a total transaction of $41,498,152.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $565,809,142.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 31,685 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Monday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.69, for a total transaction of $5,661,792.65. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,237,944.09. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 455,004 shares of company stock valued at $79,238,767. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Profile

(Free Report)

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.