Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Boosted by Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc.

Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,595 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 1.7% of Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,401,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Lantz Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 29,751 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,266,000 after buying an additional 2,361 shares during the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its position in Apple by 1.6% during the second quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 58,341 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $12,288,000 after purchasing an additional 894 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its stake in Apple by 3.2% in the second quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 452,065 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $95,214,000 after purchasing an additional 14,189 shares in the last quarter. Mainsail Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Mainsail Financial Group LLC now owns 5,352 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,127,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ORBA Wealth Advisors L.L.C. grew its holdings in Apple by 1.4% during the second quarter. ORBA Wealth Advisors L.L.C. now owns 72,264 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $15,220,000 after acquiring an additional 978 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, 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 transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was 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 owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of several analyst reports. New Street Research reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Loop Capital cut their price target on Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on shares of Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded Apple from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned 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 company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $237.64.

Apple Stock Down 1.1 %

AAPL opened at $242.21 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $239.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $229.57. The company has a market capitalization of $3.66 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $260.10.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.41%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 16.45%.

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.