Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Acquired by JGP Wealth Management LLC

JGP Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 221,319 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,424 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 7.2% of JGP Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. JGP Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $55,423,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bull Oak Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 252.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its stake in shares of Apple by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter worth $71,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter worth $77,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions 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 stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $241.76 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $239.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $233.67. The firm has a market cap of $3.63 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. Analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Apple to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Apple to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Maxim Group boosted their price objective on Apple to $215.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.88.

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.