Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc. Sells 89 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 38,701 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 89 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 4.5% of Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $9,017,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bull Oak Capital LLC grew its stake in Apple by 252.3% during the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its stake in Apple by 88.9% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Cordant Inc. raised its position in shares of Apple by 34.3% during the third quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 678 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $158,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Finally, Sage Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at about $206,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on AAPL. Maxim Group boosted their price objective on Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson decreased their target price on shares of Apple from $211.00 to $202.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned 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 company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.78.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, 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 transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. This represents a 6.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 508,170 shares of company stock worth $117,004,745 over the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL opened at $258.20 on Wednesday. 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 $3.90 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.47, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a fifty day moving average of $235.45 and a 200 day moving average of $226.34. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $258.21.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $94.52 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s payout ratio is 16.45%.

Apple Company 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.