Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. Reduces Stake in Apple Inc.

Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. has reduced its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.6% in the third quarter, as outlined in its latest Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm now holds 120,600 shares of the tech giant after selling 4,500 shares during the quarter. This position in Apple accounts for approximately 13.6% of Maryland Capital Advisors Inc.’s overall investment portfolio, making Apple its second-largest holding. The value of their Apple shares is estimated at around $28.1 million based on the most recent filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made significant changes to their holdings in Apple. For instance, Narwhal Capital Management increased its shares in Apple by 2.5% during the third quarter, now owning 276,791 shares worth about $64.49 million after adding 6,711 shares last quarter. Blossom Wealth Management raised its stake in Apple by 3.7%, bringing its total to 12,243 shares valued at approximately $2.85 million after buying 437 shares. Private Advisor Group LLC improved its position by 1.3%, owning 2,279,719 shares worth about $531.17 million after acquiring an extra 28,488 shares.

Moreover, Lanham O Dell & Company Inc. boosted its stake in Apple by 8.4%, now holding 4,821 shares valued at $1.12 million after acquiring 375 shares. ODonnell Financial Services LLC also increased its holdings by 4.0%, owning 35,003 shares worth $8.16 million after adding 1,359 shares last quarter. Overall, institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of Apple's total stock.

Analyst Opinions

A variety of analysts have recently provided insights on Apple shares. Rosenblatt Securities raised its price target for Apple from $261.00 to $262.00, maintaining a “buy” rating. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating with a price target of $273.00. Oppenheimer also reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a price objective at $250.00. On November 29th, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating, aiming for a price of $300.00. In addition, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating with a target price of $265.00. According to MarketBeat.com data, the stock has been rated as “Moderate Buy” with a consensus price target of $236.78.

Insider Trading Activity

In terms of insider transactions, Chris Kondo, an insider, sold 4,130 shares on November 18th for an average price of $228.87, totaling approximately $945,233. After this sale, Kondo owns 15,419 shares with a value of around $3.53 million, which is a 21.13% reduction in their holdings. Additionally, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares on December 16th for an average price of $249.97, amounting to $24.99 million. After this transaction, Williams owns 389,944 shares valued at about $97.47 million, reflecting a 20.41% decrease in their stake. Over the past three months, insiders have dispersed 508,170 shares valued at $117 million, with corporate insiders owning 0.06% of the stock.

Apple's Stock Performance

As for Apple’s stock, it opened at $249.79 recently. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87, and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. Its market capitalization stands at $3.78 trillion, with a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.08 and a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41. Over the past year, Apple's stock hit a low of $164.07 and a high of $254.28. The 50-day simple moving average is currently $234.43, while the 200-day moving average is $225.06.

Recently, Apple released its quarterly earnings, where it reported earnings of $1.64 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.60. The company’s revenue amounted to $94.93 billion, exceeding the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion, signifying a year-over-year revenue increase of 6.1%. For the current year, analysts project Apple Inc. will report earnings of $7.43 per share.

Dividend Announcement

Recently, Apple declared a quarterly dividend, paid on November 14th. Shareholders of record as of November 11th received a dividend of $0.25 per share, which translates to an annualized dividend of $1.00 and a dividend yield of 0.40%. The payout ratio for Apple is 16.45%.

Company Overview

Apple Inc. is involved in designing, manufacturing, and marketing a broad range of consumer electronics products, including smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories. Popular products include the iPhone, Mac computers, iPad tablets, and various wearables like Apple Watch and AirPods.

Investments, Stocks, Apple