Rep. Laurel M. Lee Buys Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares

Representative Laurel M. Lee (R-Florida) recently bought shares of Apple Inc. NASDAQ: AAPL. In a filing disclosed on November 21st, the Representative disclosed that they had bought between $15,001 and $50,000 in Apple stock on October 7th.

Representative Laurel M. Lee also recently made the following trade(s):

• Sold $15,001 - $50,000 in shares of GE Vernova NYSE: GEV on 11/8/2024.
• Purchased $15,001 - $50,000 in shares of Pfizer NYSE: PFE on 10/21/2024.
• Purchased $50,001 - $100,000 in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. NYSE: JPM on 9/10/2024.

Apple Trading Up 0.6 %

AAPL traded up $1.35 during trading on Friday, reaching $229.87. 38,168,252 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 43,855,068. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $237.49. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $227.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $218.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.47 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $94.93 billion for 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%. Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 16.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares of the company's stock, valued at $736,269,202.80. This represents a 6.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 408,170 shares of company stock worth $92,007,745 in the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America restated a "buy" rating and set a $256.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Moffett Nathanson decreased their price objective on shares of Apple from $211.00 to $202.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.25.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. State Street Corp grew its position in Apple by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 584,010,284 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $136,074,372,000 after purchasing an additional 55,935,105 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 5.3% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 6.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 333,857,500 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $77,542,863,000 after acquiring an additional 20,483,787 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings 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 worth $22,121,656,000 after acquiring an additional 5,893,741 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Apple by 20,372.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 94,347,510 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $219,829,700,000 after purchasing an additional 93,886,664 shares during the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Representative Lee

Laurel Lee (Republican Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Florida's 15th Congressional District. She assumed office on January 3, 2023. Her current term ends on January 3, 2025. Lee (Republican Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Florida's 15th Congressional District. She declared candidacy for the Republican primary scheduled on August 20, 2024. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) appointed Lee to serve as the Florida Secretary of State on January 28, 2019, after the resignation of Michael Ertel on January 24. Lee resigned on May 16, 2022. Lee was a judge of the 13th Judicial Circuit Court in Florida from 2013 to 2019. She was appointed to the court by Gov. Rick Scott (R) in May 2013. She was elected to the position in 2014. Laurel Lee earned undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Florida. Lee's career experience includes working as an attorney with Carlton Fields, P.A., an assistant federal public defender and assistant U.S. attorney with the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, and a law clerk to James S. Moody on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

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.