Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Acquired by Aptus Capital Advisors LLC

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 21.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 747,364 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 130,860 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 2.6% of Aptus Capital Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $174,136,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Bull Oak Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 252.3% during the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 88.9% during the 3rd 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. ARK Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at $110,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 34.3% during the third quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 678 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $158,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock traded up $1.72 on Monday, hitting $229.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 68,239,505 shares, compared to its average volume of 41,481,172. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $241.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $230.79. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $260.10. The firm has a market cap of $3.48 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The company had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the business'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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,528,946.53. The trade was a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Maxim Group boosted their target price on Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Moffett Nathanson reissued a "sell" rating and issued a $188.00 target price (down from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $273.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, December 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $239.85.

Apple 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.