Biechele Royce Advisors Has $26.62 Million Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Biechele Royce Advisors decreased its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 114,250 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,063 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 8.8% of Biechele Royce Advisors’ investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Biechele Royce Advisors’ holdings in Apple were worth $26,620,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Lantz Financial LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 8.6% in the second quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 29,751 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,266,000 after purchasing an additional 2,361 shares during the period. AHL Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. AHL Investment Management Inc. now owns 33,157 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,984,000 after buying an additional 1,680 shares during the period. Asset Management Advisors LLC increased its position in Apple by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Asset Management Advisors LLC now owns 45,736 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $9,633,000 after buying an additional 459 shares in the last quarter. Signature Wealth Management Partners LLC raised its stake in Apple by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Signature Wealth Management Partners LLC now owns 52,874 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $11,136,000 after buying an additional 2,016 shares during the period. Finally, D.B. Root & Company LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 14.6% in the second quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC now owns 46,704 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $9,837,000 after acquiring an additional 5,947 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $243.36 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $238.91 and its 200 day moving average is $228.87. The company has a market cap of $3.68 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.03, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its 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 net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The firm had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. KeyCorp lowered Apple from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, October 25th. Maxim Group upped their price target on Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt restated a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $265.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Two 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $238.03.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. The trade was a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.