Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Bought by Smith Group Asset Management LLC

Smith Group Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 248,496 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,130 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 4.8% of Smith Group Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Smith Group Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $57,900,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Lantz Financial LLC boosted its position in Apple by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 29,751 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,266,000 after buying an additional 2,361 shares during the last quarter. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Apple by 27.4% in the second quarter. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,343 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,600,000 after purchasing an additional 2,658 shares during the period. Pacifica Partners Inc. raised its holdings in Apple by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 63,404 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $14,046,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Ellenbecker Investment Group raised its holdings in Apple by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ellenbecker Investment Group now owns 36,816 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $7,754,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Worth Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Apple by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC now owns 19,185 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,041,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $255.59 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The stock has a market cap of $3.86 trillion, a PE ratio of 42.04, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $237.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $227.89.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $94.93 billion during 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total transaction of $13,433,768.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,416,137.76. This trade represents a 35.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 508,170 shares of company stock valued at $117,004,745. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $273.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $237.47.

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.