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Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Increases Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

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Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 285,248 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 10,604 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 3.5% of Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC's holdings, making the stock its largest position. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $66,463,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Proactive Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the third quarter worth approximately $4,814,000. Platform Technology Partners boosted its stake in Apple by 1.3% during the third quarter. Platform Technology Partners now owns 133,028 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $30,668,000 after buying an additional 1,671 shares in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its holdings in Apple by 1.9% during the third quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 745,705 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $173,749,000 after acquiring an additional 14,177 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in Apple by 1.3% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 34,486,195 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $8,035,283,000 after acquiring an additional 432,140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd lifted its holdings in Apple by 23.9% in the 3rd quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 499,426 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $116,265,000 after acquiring an additional 96,362 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL stock traded up $1.72 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $229.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 68,239,505 shares, compared to its average volume of 41,481,172. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The firm's 50-day moving average is $241.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $230.79. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The company has a market cap of $3.48 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.83, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $94.93 billion for 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%. The company's revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.46 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Apple's payout ratio is presently 16.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI restated a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Moffett Nathanson restated a "sell" rating and set a $188.00 price objective (down previously from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $273.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $256.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $239.85.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on AAPL

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Apple

(Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)

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