Waverton Investment Management Ltd Has $97.73 Million Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Waverton Investment Management Ltd grew its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 419,435 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 15,413 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 1.6% of Waverton Investment Management Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Waverton Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Apple were worth $97,726,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in Apple by 0.5% during the third quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,654 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,249,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,489 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $813,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Verus Financial Partners Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Verus Financial Partners Inc. now owns 16,929 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,566,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Brown Financial Advisory lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Financial Advisory now owns 1,364 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Core Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 1.7% in the second quarter. Core Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,968 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $625,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. The trade was a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the 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 directly owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $1.72 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $229.98. The company had a trading volume of 68,239,505 shares, compared to its average volume of 41,481,172. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.48 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.83, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $241.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $230.79. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $260.10. 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 (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts' expectations of $94.52 billion. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.46 EPS. Analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Apple's payout ratio is currently 16.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AAPL. Jefferies Financial Group cut Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $205.00 to $212.92 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Evercore ISI reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Three equities 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $239.85.

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.