Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Spire Wealth Management's 2nd Largest Position

Spire Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 558,254 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 28,404 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 4.3% of Spire Wealth Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Spire Wealth Management's holdings in Apple were worth $139,798,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Apple by 20,372.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 94,347,510 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $219,829,700,000 after purchasing an additional 93,886,664 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 10.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 20,483,787 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 5.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 363,859,362 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $84,779,231,000 after acquiring an additional 18,224,005 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 6.6% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total value of $8,683,316.74. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. The trade was a 17.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 182,451 shares of company stock valued at $40,818,720 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on AAPL. Bank of America cut their price target on Apple from $265.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Apple to $275.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. KeyCorp reiterated an "underweight" rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Moffett Nathanson restated a "sell" rating and set a $188.00 price objective (down from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an "underperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $245.26.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded down $20.70 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $203.19. The company had a trading volume of 103,138,666 shares, compared to its average volume of 55,023,419. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $230.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $233.15. The company has a market capitalization of $3.05 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.08 and a 1 year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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