Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Raised by Venturi Wealth Management LLC

Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 11.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 217,681 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 23,179 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 2.7% of Venturi Wealth Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Venturi Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $54,512,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Apple by 10.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 584,010,284 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $136,074,372,000 after buying an additional 55,935,105 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 363,859,362 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $84,779,231,000 after acquiring an additional 18,224,005 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 6.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 333,857,500 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $77,542,863,000 after acquiring an additional 20,483,787 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Apple by 6.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 94,942,731 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $22,121,656,000 after purchasing an additional 5,893,741 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 1.9% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 91,568,390 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $21,335,435,000 after purchasing an additional 1,742,087 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AAPL. UBS Group dropped their price target on Apple from $236.00 to $210.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays raised their target price on Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $202.33 to $167.88 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Apple from $259.00 to $256.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $234.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value of $7,950,786.93. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. This trade represents a 8.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 182,451 shares of company stock valued at $40,818,720. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Apple Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $204.57 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $166.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $217.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $229.52. The company has a market cap of $3.07 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.47, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. Research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Apple's payout ratio is 15.87%.

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.

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