Goldstein Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Goldstein Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 31,601 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 606 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 1.1% of Goldstein Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Goldstein Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $7,363,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Bull Oak Capital LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 252.3% in the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth about $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its holdings in Apple by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Cordant Inc. boosted its stake in Apple by 34.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 678 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $158,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sage Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Apple in the second quarter worth about $206,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total transaction of $50,275,897.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $736,269,202.80. The trade was a 6.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total value of $13,802,497.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 187,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,309,126.60. The trade was a 24.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 508,170 shares of company stock valued at $117,004,745. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on AAPL. Loop Capital decreased 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Apple to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Moffett Nathanson reduced their target price on shares of Apple from $211.00 to $202.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $237.47.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock opened at $259.02 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.92 trillion, a P/E ratio of 42.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $237.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $227.21. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) 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 net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The business’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 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.