Lafayette Investments Inc. Has $13.58 Million Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Lafayette Investments Inc. trimmed its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,299 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 56 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 2.9% of Lafayette Investments Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $13,584,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its position in Apple by 2.4% in the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 761,774 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $130,629,000 after acquiring an additional 17,519 shares in the last quarter. PGGM Investments lifted its stake in Apple by 13.7% during the first quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 991,643 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $170,047,000 after purchasing an additional 119,866 shares during the last quarter. Dodds Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Dodds Wealth LLC now owns 12,707 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,179,000 after purchasing an additional 784 shares in the last quarter. Invst LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Invst LLC now owns 49,814 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,470,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Advisor Networks LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 2,568,133 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $440,383,000 after purchasing an additional 29,162 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total transaction of $50,275,897.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. This represents a 6.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,730 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.86, for a total value of $13,550,347.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,944 shares in the company, valued at $111,148,695.84. The trade was a 10.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 508,170 shares of company stock worth $117,004,745. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Apple Stock Up 1.9 %

Apple stock opened at $254.49 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $255.00. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $234.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $225.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The firm has a market cap of $3.85 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.86, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.52 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. Apple’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.39%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays cut their target price on Apple from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. KeyCorp cut shares of Apple from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Melius Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $273.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, December 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.78.

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.