Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Valley Brook Capital Group Inc.’s Largest Position

Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. grew its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,562 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 8.5% of Valley Brook Capital Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $11,781,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Castle Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Castle Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,428 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,925,000 after purchasing an additional 1,532 shares in the last quarter. Olympiad Research LP raised its stake in Apple by 78.8% in the third quarter. Olympiad Research LP now owns 2,551 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $594,000 after buying an additional 1,124 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 7.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 21,886,668 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,099,594,000 after buying an additional 1,577,062 shares during the last quarter. BNC Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.3% in the third quarter. BNC Wealth Management LLC now owns 90,501 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $21,087,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jackson Square Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 6.0% during the third quarter. Jackson Square Capital LLC now owns 123,232 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $28,713,000 after acquiring an additional 6,921 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $236.85 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.58 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $240.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $230.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $260.10.

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 business had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Apple to $184.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Apple to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Apple to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $239.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.