Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Purchased by Costello Asset Management INC

Costello Asset Management INC raised its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 7,939 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 620 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 1.2% of Costello Asset Management INC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Costello Asset Management INC’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,850,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Lantz Financial LLC lifted its position in Apple by 8.6% in the second quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 29,751 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,266,000 after buying an additional 2,361 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 52,498 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $11,057,000 after acquiring an additional 757 shares during the period. Vista Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC now owns 47,195 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $9,940,000 after acquiring an additional 715 shares during the last quarter. Family Investment Center Inc. boosted its position in shares of Apple by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Family Investment Center Inc. now owns 9,301 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,959,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Williams Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $12,630,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $228.26 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $240.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $230.57. 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 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The firm has a market cap of $3.45 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.54, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on AAPL shares. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $236.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Evercore ISI reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Maxim Group boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $239.85.

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.