Old North State Wealth Management LLC Has $6.31 Million Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Old North State Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 99.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 27,050 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,472 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 3.5% of Old North State Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Old North State Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $6,309,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bull Oak Capital LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 252.3% in the 3rd 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 acquired a new position in Apple during the second quarter worth about $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 88.9% in the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Cordant Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 34.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 678 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $158,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EMC Capital Management boosted its position in Apple by 7.3% in the third quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 892 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $201,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Moffett Nathanson reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $188.00 price objective (down previously from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $256.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Apple to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $237.64.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $242.21 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $239.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $229.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $3.66 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year 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 the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The company had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Apple

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

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.