Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s 9th Largest Position

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 183,917 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,372 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 3.1% of Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $42,853,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 83,575 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $19,473,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Cardinal Strategic Wealth Guidance raised its stake in shares of Apple by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cardinal Strategic Wealth Guidance now owns 15,132 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,526,000 after buying an additional 392 shares during the period. Allen Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Allen Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,868 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,532,000 after buying an additional 537 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust grew its stake in Apple by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 9,026 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,103,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares during the period. Finally, Prossimo Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at $7,418,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Apple Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of AAPL opened at $243.36 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $238.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $229.08. 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 $3.68 trillion, a PE ratio of 40.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.41%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $236.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Maxim Group upped their target price on shares of Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on shares of Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Apple to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Two 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $238.03.

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.