Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Acquired by Smith Group Asset Management LLC

Smith Group Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 5.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 248,496 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 12,130 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 4.8% of Smith Group Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Smith Group Asset Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $57,900,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cornerstone Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Apple by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 9,363 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,182,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares during the period. Worth Financial Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in Apple by 50.1% in the third quarter. Worth Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 39,214 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $9,137,000 after purchasing an additional 13,085 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 3.4% during the third quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 223,982 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $51,644,000 after buying an additional 7,365 shares in the last quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in Apple by 147.9% in the 3rd quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. now owns 28,235 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $6,579,000 after buying an additional 16,845 shares during the period. Finally, Autumn Glory Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 29.6% in the 3rd quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC now owns 17,933 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $4,182,000 after buying an additional 4,100 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Apple to $256.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $265.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Apple to $185.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $273.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt restated a "buy" rating and issued a $245.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $237.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total transaction of $50,275,897.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at $736,269,202.80. This trade represents a 6.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 508,170 shares of company stock worth $117,004,745. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Down 1.3 %

AAPL traded down $3.39 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $252.20. 35,435,137 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 57,203,777. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.81 trillion, a P/E ratio of 41.48, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $237.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $227.89. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $260.10.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $94.93 billion during 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%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Apple's payout ratio is presently 16.45%.

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.