Welch Group LLC decreased its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 363,921 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 2,079 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 3.7% of Welch Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Welch Group LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $84,794,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Lantz Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 8.6% during the second quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 29,751 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $6,266,000 after purchasing an additional 2,361 shares during the last quarter. Trinity Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Apple by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Trinity Financial Advisors LLC now owns 29,427 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $6,198,000 after buying an additional 653 shares during the last quarter. Foresight Capital Management Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Apple by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Foresight Capital Management Advisors Inc. now owns 19,005 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $4,003,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. MADDEN SECURITIES Corp raised its position in Apple by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. MADDEN SECURITIES Corp now owns 31,487 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $6,632,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guinness Asset Management LTD lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 156,985 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $33,074,000 after acquiring an additional 5,759 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.
Apple Trading Down 1.3 %
NASDAQ AAPL traded down $3.43 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $255.59. 42,297,621 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 57,290,680. The business's 50 day moving average is $237.41 and its 200-day moving average is $227.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.86 trillion, a P/E ratio of 42.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced 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. 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 analyst estimates of $94.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. The company's revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Apple Dividend Announcement
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.39%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.45%.
Insider Activity at Apple
In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of Apple 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. The trade was a 6.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total value of $13,802,497.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 187,043 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $42,309,126.60. This trade represents a 24.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 508,170 shares of company stock worth $117,004,745. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America raised their price target on Apple to $256.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $236.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, December 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an "overweight" rating and set a $265.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $237.47.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Apple
Apple Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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