Lockerman Financial Group Inc. Grows Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Lockerman Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,366 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 2.5% of Lockerman Financial Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Lockerman Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,483,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its stake in Apple by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Hoese & Co LLP increased its holdings in Apple by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 912 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $175,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Sage Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the second quarter worth approximately $206,000. Finally, Benchmark Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the second quarter valued at approximately $208,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total transaction of $13,802,497.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 187,043 shares in the company, 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 408,170 shares of company stock worth $92,007,745. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on AAPL. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price target for the company from $205.00 to $212.92 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Maxim Group increased their target price on shares of Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Apple from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson dropped their target price on shares of Apple from $211.00 to $202.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.68.

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock opened at $243.04 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $230.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $221.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $244.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.67 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.23.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.45%.

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.