Apple Inc. $AAPL Stake Cut by Busey Bank

Key Points

• Busey Bank has reduced its stake in Apple Inc. (AAPL) by 5.8%, selling 59,719 shares and leaving it with approximately 966,540 shares, valued at around $198 million.
• Several institutional investors have altered their positions in Apple, with 67.73% of the stock now owned by such entities, highlighting ongoing interest in the tech giant.
• Analysts have set new price targets for Apple, with estimates ranging from $180 to $290, and the stock currently carries an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

Busey Bank reduced its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 5.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 966,540 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 59,719 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 6.1% of Busey Bank's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Busey Bank's holdings in Apple were worth $198,305,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Ryan Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Apple in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its stake in Apple by 1,800.0% in the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Elite Financial Inc. bought a new position in Apple in the 1st quarter worth about $58,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $63,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays upped their target price on Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Melius Research set a $290.00 price objective on Apple and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Apple in a research report on Monday, September 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $290.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $245.66.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $254.43 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.78 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.11. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The business's 50 day moving average price is $229.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $213.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.40 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were given 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, August 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.78%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by 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.

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