Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Position Raised by Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 7.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 884,492 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 57,684 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 4.5% of Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $206,086,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bull Oak Capital LLC increased its position in Apple by 252.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its holdings in Apple by 88.9% in the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new stake in Apple during the third quarter valued at $77,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the 3rd quarter worth about $110,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Apple from a "hold" rating to an "underperform" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $211.84 to $200.75 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $262.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated an "underweight" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $242.52.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm'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 directly owns 389,944 shares of the company's stock, valued at $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Apple Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of AAPL stock traded up $4.97 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $232.62. 53,671,627 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,044,813. The firm has a market cap of $3.49 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company's 50 day moving average is $241.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $231.20. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.87%.

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.