Occidental Asset Management LLC Grows Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Occidental Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 146,301 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,360 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 5.5% of Occidental Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Occidental Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $34,088,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Apple by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 52,981,808 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $11,160,183,000 after purchasing an additional 2,785,807 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in Apple by 6.7% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 51,765,589 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $10,909,457,000 after buying an additional 3,245,281 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in Apple by 7.1% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 37,146,325 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,369,852,000 after acquiring an additional 2,474,887 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 3.2% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 34,619,614 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $7,291,583,000 after acquiring an additional 1,065,759 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in Apple by 13.4% during the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 20,008,650 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,214,222,000 after acquiring an additional 2,359,409 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Up 0.1 %

Apple stock opened at $243.01 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.67 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.23. The company’s 50-day moving average is $229.92 and its 200-day moving average is $220.90. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $244.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

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

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 that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction of $945,233.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % 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 quarter. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Oppenheimer reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Maxim Group increased their price target on shares of Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 26th. New Street Research reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Apple to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.68.

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.