Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Ascent Wealth Partners LLC’s 4th Largest Position

Ascent Wealth Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 144,141 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 731 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 4.4% of Ascent Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $30,359,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Madison Wealth Partners Inc increased its stake in shares of Apple by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc now owns 35,415 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,818,000 after acquiring an additional 5,820 shares during the last quarter. Taylor Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,660,000. Covenant Partners LLC grew its position in Apple by 33.0% in the fourth quarter. Covenant Partners LLC now owns 21,090 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,060,000 after acquiring an additional 5,234 shares during the period. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. acquired a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,511,000. Finally, Sunpointe LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,782,000. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at $39,542,136.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total transaction of $50,275,897.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 517,924 shares of company stock worth $114,786,399. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of AAPL opened at $227.55 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $237.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.49 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.39, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.24. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $223.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $205.95.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $84.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.26 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $265.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Piper Sandler Companies reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price objective (up from $190.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $195.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $239.27.

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.