Wallington Asset Management LLC Buys 7,095 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Wallington Asset Management LLC raised its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 131,557 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 7,095 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 4.3% of Wallington Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Wallington Asset Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $30,653,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 127.4% in the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 75,479 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $12,943,000 after acquiring an additional 42,282 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its holdings in Apple by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 761,774 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $130,629,000 after purchasing an additional 17,519 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. raised its position in Apple by 9.4% in the first quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. now owns 105,895 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $18,159,000 after purchasing an additional 9,133 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 57.3% during the first quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 41,504 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $7,117,000 after purchasing an additional 15,124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Milestones Administradora de Recursos Ltda. purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the first quarter worth $496,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL traded up $4.70 on Friday, reaching $254.49. The stock had a trading volume of 145,580,875 shares, compared to its average volume of 57,671,145. The stock has a market cap of $3.85 trillion, a P/E ratio of 41.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $255.00. The business's 50-day moving average price is $234.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $225.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total value of $13,802,497.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 187,043 shares in the company, valued at $42,309,126.60. This trade represents a 24.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total value of $50,275,897.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at $736,269,202.80. The trade was a 6.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 508,170 shares of company stock valued at $117,004,745. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $205.00 to $212.92 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Maxim Group upped their target price on shares of Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Melius Research reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $265.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $273.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently 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.