Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Benson Investment Management Company Inc.

Benson Investment Management Company Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 54,376 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 247 shares during the period. Apple makes up 4.7% of Benson Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Benson Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $11,453,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. acquired a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. increased its holdings in Apple by 657.1% in the fourth quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Clarity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $85,000. Finally, Clear Street Markets LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 100.6% during the 4th quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 483 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 83,965 shares in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Tigress Financial upped their price target on Apple from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Apple from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. KeyCorp reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $247.61 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $256.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $238.62.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total value of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total value of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $1,958,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,469,275. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 113,884 shares of company stock worth $23,723,887. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $222.50 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.38 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.24. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $237.23. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $223.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $198.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 147.15%. The business had revenue of $85.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.43 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 15.55%.

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.