Clarity Financial LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Clarity Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 146,122 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,873 shares during the period. Apple makes up 3.9% of Clarity Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Clarity Financial LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $34,046,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Amalgamated Bank lifted its position in shares of Apple by 3.1% during the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 3,201,193 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $745,878,000 after purchasing an additional 95,961 shares in the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC raised its position in Apple by 2.4% in the third quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC now owns 66,285 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $15,444,000 after acquiring an additional 1,541 shares during the period. United Advisor Group LLC raised its position in Apple by 32.8% in the third quarter. United Advisor Group LLC now owns 67,613 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $15,754,000 after acquiring an additional 16,684 shares during the period. ASB Consultores LLC raised its position in Apple by 9.4% in the third quarter. ASB Consultores LLC now owns 6,161 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,436,000 after acquiring an additional 529 shares during the period. Finally, James J. Burns & Company LLC raised its position in Apple by 3.0% in the third quarter. James J. Burns & Company LLC now owns 114,839 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $26,757,000 after acquiring an additional 3,388 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $242.70 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $239.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $229.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.67 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.92, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $94.93 billion for 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 for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction of $945,233.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction 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. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on AAPL shares. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Apple from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $256.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $237.64.

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.