ASB Consultores LLC Grows Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

ASB Consultores LLC grew its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 9.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,161 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 529 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 0.6% of ASB Consultores LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. ASB Consultores LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,436,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. Bull Oak Capital LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 252.3% during 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 last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its stake in Apple by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. Cordant Inc. boosted its position in Apple by 34.3% in the third quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 678 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $158,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EMC Capital Management raised its position in Apple by 7.3% in the third quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 892 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $201,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $242.70 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $3.67 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.92, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $239.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $229.66.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.46 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the firm’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 value of $945,233.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $205.00 to $212.92 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com cut Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup boosted their price target on Apple to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus 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.