Washington Trust Advisors Inc. Sells 4,685 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Washington Trust Advisors cut its Apple stake by 4,685 shares, or 1.8%, in the third quarter, leaving it with 261,414 shares valued at about $87.1 million. Apple remains 6.1% of the fund’s portfolio and its second-largest holding.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: MarketBeat reports a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $347.11, although recent ratings range from Buy to Sell.
• Apple’s latest quarterly results beat estimates, with EPS of $2.10 versus $1.99 expected and revenue of $114.48 billion versus $113.40 billion expected; revenue grew 11.7% year over year.

Washington Trust Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 261,414 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 4,685 shares during the period. Apple makes up 6.1% of Washington Trust Advisors Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Washington Trust Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $87,056,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Prospect Hill Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at about $146,370,000. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at about $168,646,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $482,388,000. Satovsky Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $16,064,000. Finally, Gouws Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 136.9% in the 3rd quarter. Gouws Capital LLC now owns 37,504 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $12,490,000 after purchasing an additional 21,676 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AAPL. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $340.00 target price (up from $296.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, August 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. HSBC reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Phillip Securities cut shares of Apple from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research note on Friday, November 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $347.11.

Apple Stock Up 2.0%

AAPL stock opened at $355.63 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.42 and a twelve month high of $355.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a market cap of $5.17 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.65, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.07. The business's 50-day moving average price is $337.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $300.06.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $114.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $113.40 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 125.35% and a net margin of 27.60%. The firm's revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.85 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 9.45 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 12th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Apple's payout ratio is currently 12.04%.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are a few of the latest stories about AAPL:

• Positive Sentiment: China Renaissance upgraded Apple to Buy from Hold and raised its price target to $425, citing growth potential from Apple’s first foldable iPhone. The bullish outlook helped support shares. Analyst raises Apple price target to $425
• Positive Sentiment: Reports point to strong iPhone demand and a record quarterly revenue result, while the foldable iPhone could provide a new growth opportunity. A faster Siri AI roadmap may also strengthen Apple’s longer-term product story.
• Neutral Sentiment: Google is rolling out Gemini Live on Apple CarPlay, bringing another conversational AI option to iPhone users’ cars. This adds functionality to the CarPlay platform, though it also highlights competition for Apple’s own assistant. Google brings Gemini Live to Apple CarPlay

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Timothy D. Cook sold 191,753 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.96, for a total value of $63,846,078.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 3,264,168 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,086,837,377.28. This represents a 5.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 46,389 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.42, for a total transaction of $15,467,020.38. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at $45,615,190.20. The trade was a 25.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 290,212 shares of company stock worth $96,639,685 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Profile

Apple Inc. designs, manufactures and markets consumer electronics, software and digital services. Its products include the iPhone, Mac computers, iPad, Apple Watch and AirPods, along with operating systems and applications such as iOS, macOS and iPadOS. The company also offers services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV+, iCloud and Apple Pay. These products and services are integrated across Apple's devices and are sold to consumers, businesses and institutions around the world. Founded in 1976 and headquartered in Cupertino, California, Apple serves customers globally through online and retail stores, wireless carriers and other resellers.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AAPL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.