Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Position Lifted by Stockman Wealth Management Inc.

Stockman Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 102,466 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,357 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 3.7% of Stockman Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Stockman Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $23,875,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,654 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,249,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 1.3% during the third quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,489 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $813,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Verus Financial Partners Inc. raised its position in Apple by 0.3% during the second quarter. Verus Financial Partners Inc. now owns 16,929 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,566,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Brown Financial Advisory lifted its holdings in Apple by 3.8% in the second quarter. Brown Financial Advisory now owns 1,364 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $287,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Core Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Apple by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Core Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,968 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $625,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the business’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 transaction 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 $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $229.98 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The stock has a market cap of $3.48 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.83, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a fifty day moving average of $240.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $230.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The firm had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.46 earnings per share. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued 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 is currently 16.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AAPL. Maxim Group lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $273.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $239.85.

About Apple

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.