Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Holdings Boosted by Global Financial Private Client LLC

Global Financial Private Client LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 71,622 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,013 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 6.5% of Global Financial Private Client LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Global Financial Private Client LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $16,688,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Apple by 127.4% during the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 75,479 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $12,943,000 after purchasing an additional 42,282 shares during the period. Schulhoff & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the first quarter. Schulhoff & Co. Inc. now owns 18,925 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,245,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 6.4% in the first quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC now owns 242,164 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $41,526,000 after buying an additional 14,585 shares in the last quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 567.9% in the first quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 1,069,412 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $183,383,000 after buying an additional 909,303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Research LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 3.0% during the first quarter. Main Street Research LLC now owns 346,552 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $59,427,000 after acquiring an additional 10,204 shares during the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total value 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 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, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction of $945,233.10. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 408,170 shares of company stock worth $92,007,745. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $229.87 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $227.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $218.06. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $237.49. 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.47 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.81, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.24.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Melius Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $265.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Loop Capital lowered their price target on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Apple from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.25.

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.