Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC

Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,374 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 135 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 2.6% of Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $7,077,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bull Oak Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 252.3% in the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its holdings in Apple by 88.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Cordant Inc. boosted its stake in Apple by 34.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 678 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $158,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sage Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth $206,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of Apple 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 in the company, valued at $736,269,202.80. This trade represents a 6.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 508,170 shares of company stock valued at $117,004,745 over the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $255.59 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The company has a market cap of $3.86 trillion, a P/E ratio of 42.04, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $237.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $227.65.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The business had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.46 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.39%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 16.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Apple to $256.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. New Street Research restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $273.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, December 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $237.47.

About Apple

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.