Smith & Howard Wealth Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Smith & Howard Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,484 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 0.9% of Smith & Howard Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Smith & Howard Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,142,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. CWC Advisors LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the third quarter worth about $5,757,000. Mayfair Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mayfair Advisory Group LLC now owns 30,390 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,892,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. Burford Brothers Inc. grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Burford Brothers Inc. now owns 72,936 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $16,994,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its position in Apple by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 40,528 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $9,443,000 after purchasing an additional 1,782 shares during the period. Finally, Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 62.2% in the third quarter. Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,136 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,527,000 after purchasing an additional 5,804 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 1.1 %

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $258.20 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.90 trillion, a PE ratio of 42.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $235.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $226.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $258.21.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.39%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.45%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.86, for a total value of $13,550,347.80. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $111,148,695.84. This represents a 10.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 508,170 shares of company stock worth $117,004,745. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Apple to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Oppenheimer reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt reissued a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, September 9th. Two 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.78.

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.