Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Purchased by First Business Financial Services Inc.

First Business Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 58,144 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 5,458 shares during the period. Apple comprises 1.4% of First Business Financial Services Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. First Business Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $13,548,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 1.7% in the third quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 64,015 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $14,916,000 after buying an additional 1,066 shares in the last quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 2.7% in the second quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC now owns 289,421 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $60,958,000 after buying an additional 7,606 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 6,994,703 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,473,224,000 after purchasing an additional 126,210 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 69,824 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $16,269,000 after buying an additional 2,565 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 12.8% in the third quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 253,743 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $59,122,000 after purchasing an additional 28,799 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL traded down $0.17 during trading on Thursday, hitting $223.66. 60,167,077 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 55,194,383. 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $241.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $230.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.36 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.79, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The business had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.46 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.45%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the firm'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 sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Moffett Nathanson reissued a "sell" rating and set a $188.00 target price (down previously from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Loop Capital downgraded shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $230.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Apple from a "hold" rating to an "underperform" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $211.84 to $200.75 in a research note on Tuesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned 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.com, Apple has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $238.14.

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.