Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s Largest Position

Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI grew its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 218,804 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,222 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 4.1% of Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s holdings in Apple were worth $50,981,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cedrus LLC raised its stake in Apple by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cedrus LLC now owns 18,256 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,254,000 after acquiring an additional 757 shares during the last quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Apple by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 36,616 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,531,000 after acquiring an additional 1,439 shares during the last quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in Apple by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC now owns 10,682 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,489,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Proathlete Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Apple by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Proathlete Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,801 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $886,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Resonant Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Apple by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 81,233 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $18,927,000 after acquiring an additional 3,745 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 0.1 %

AAPL stock opened at $248.13 on Friday. 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 $250.80. The stock has a market cap of $3.75 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.81, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23. The business’s 50-day moving average is $232.50 and its 200 day moving average is $223.41.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s payout ratio is 16.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 187,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,309,126.60. This trade represents a 24.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at $736,269,202.80. This trade represents a 6.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 408,170 shares of company stock worth $92,007,745. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $236.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Tigress Financial raised their target price on Apple from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Barclays reduced their target price on Apple from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt restated a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Maxim Group lifted their price objective on Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.78.

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.