Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Position Increased by Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC

Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC raised its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 180,531 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 710 shares during the period. Apple makes up 2.9% of Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $38,023,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 657.1% during the 4th quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Clarity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $85,000. Finally, Clear Street Markets LLC increased its stake in Apple by 100.6% in the 4th quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 483 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 83,965 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $222.50 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $223.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $198.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.38 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.60, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.24. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $237.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. Apple had a return on equity of 147.15% and a net margin of 26.44%. The firm had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.26 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on AAPL shares. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Apple from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Apple from $190.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $265.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 price target (up from $190.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $238.62.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total value of $1,121,037.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 24,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,223,062.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total value of $20,644,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,542,136.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total value of $1,121,037.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 24,125 shares in the company, valued at $5,223,062.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 113,884 shares of company stock worth $23,723,887 over the last quarter. Company 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.