Smith Salley Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Free Report) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 393,952 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 3,156 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 6.3% of Smith Salley Wealth Management’s portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Smith Salley Wealth Management’s holdings in Apple were worth $98,653,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 64,015 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $14,916,000 after buying an additional 1,066 shares during the period. Amara Financial LLC. acquired a new position in Apple during the 3rd quarter worth about $288,000. Granite Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC now owns 289,421 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $60,958,000 after buying an additional 7,606 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Apple by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 6,994,703 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,473,224,000 after buying an additional 126,210 shares during the period. Finally, Sterling Investment Counsel LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 69,824 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $16,269,000 after buying an additional 2,565 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Insider Activity
In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several brokerages have commented on AAPL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 price objective on Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Moffett Nathanson reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $188.00 price objective (down from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Apple to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Loop Capital downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.88.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on AAPL
Apple Stock Performance
AAPL stock opened at $235.93 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.54 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The business has a 50 day moving average of $238.81 and a 200-day moving average of $233.92. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.08 and a 12-month high of $260.10.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.
Apple Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.87%.
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.
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