Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is SFE Investment Counsel’s Largest Position

SFE Investment Counsel lessened its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 85,984 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,087 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 4.2% of SFE Investment Counsel’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings in Apple were worth $20,034,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smith Group Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC now owns 248,496 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $57,900,000 after buying an additional 12,130 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Apple by 5.7% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 9,363 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,182,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. Worth Financial Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 50.1% in the 3rd quarter. Worth Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 39,214 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $9,137,000 after acquiring an additional 13,085 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 223,982 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $51,644,000 after acquiring an additional 7,365 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orrstown Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in Apple by 147.9% in the 3rd quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. now owns 28,235 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,579,000 after purchasing an additional 16,845 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Trading Down 1.3 %

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $255.59 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $237.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $227.89. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market cap of $3.86 trillion, a PE ratio of 42.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.45%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total value of $13,802,497.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 187,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,309,126.60. This trade represents a 24.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 508,170 shares of company stock worth $117,004,745 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on AAPL. Monness Crespi & Hardt reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, September 9th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $205.00 to $212.92 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $273.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently 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.