Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Position Lifted by Thomasville National Bank

Thomasville National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 264,740 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 16,478 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 4.6% of Thomasville National Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Thomasville National Bank’s holdings in Apple were worth $61,684,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sunflower Bank N.A. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 8.3% in the third quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 13,661 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,183,000 after buying an additional 1,042 shares during the period. Stonekeep Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Stonekeep Investments LLC now owns 6,627 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,544,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in Apple by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 88,531 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $20,628,000 after buying an additional 1,262 shares during the last quarter. Bright Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Apple by 1.0% in the third quarter. Bright Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 16,767 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,907,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. Finally, Guardian Investment Management increased its stake in Apple by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Guardian Investment Management now owns 98,729 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $23,004,000 after buying an additional 6,647 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays decreased their price objective on Apple from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Maxim Group upped their target price on Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.68.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total transaction of $50,275,897.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. This represents a 6.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total value of $13,802,497.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 187,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,309,126.60. The trade was a 24.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 408,170 shares of company stock valued at $92,007,745 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL opened at $242.65 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $229.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $220.74. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $242.76. The company has a market cap of $3.67 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.23.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.52 billion. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 16.45%.

Apple 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.