Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Acquired by Provident Trust Co.

Provident Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 29,700 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 915 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 0.1% of Provident Trust Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Provident Trust Co.’s holdings in Apple were worth $6,920,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in Apple by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 5,561 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,296,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Holistic Planning LLC raised its position in Apple by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Holistic Planning LLC now owns 15,052 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,507,000 after buying an additional 903 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter worth $118,913,000. Equitable Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.4% in the third quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 218,913 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $51,007,000 after acquiring an additional 928 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc increased its stake in shares of Apple by 4.4% during the third quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 2,484,524 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $578,869,000 after acquiring an additional 104,457 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was 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 $3,528,946.53. The trade was a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wedbush upped their price objective on Apple from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 26th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Maxim Group boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.85.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL stock opened at $233.28 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $240.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $230.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.53 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.37, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. 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.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $94.93 billion during 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%. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.45%.

Apple 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.