Norden Group LLC Has $22.24 Million Stock Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Norden Group LLC reduced its stake in Apple Inc. by 3.3%, ending the second quarter with a holding valued at $22.24 million, making it the firm's fourth largest holding.
• Apple's quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, reporting $1.57 earnings per share compared to analysts' estimates of $1.43, with revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, a 9.6% increase year-over-year.
• Recent insider trading revealed that both SVP Deirdre O'Brien and CEO Timothy D. Cook sold significant shares, with O'Brien selling 43,013 shares for over $11 million and Cook selling 129,963 shares for approximately $33 million.

Norden Group LLC lessened its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 108,395 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 3,661 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 2.4% of Norden Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Norden Group LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $22,239,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Ryan Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Apple during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its position in Apple by 1,800.0% during the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Apple during the 1st quarter worth approximately $58,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Up 0.3%

Apple stock opened at $258.02 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.83 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.09. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $233.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $214.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 43,013 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total transaction of $11,071,116.07. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at $35,181,866.93. This trade represents a 23.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total transaction of $33,375,798.03. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at $842,412,558.95. The trade was a 3.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 254,922 shares of company stock valued at $64,320,190. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AAPL. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Moffett Nathanson upgraded shares of Apple from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $225.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Apple to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Apple from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Three 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 two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $247.49.

Apple Company 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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