Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Purchased by Verum Partners LLC

Verum Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 24,199 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 1.7% of Verum Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Verum Partners LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $5,638,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Verus Financial Partners Inc. boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Brown Financial Advisory boosted its holdings in Apple by 3.8% during the second quarter. Brown Financial Advisory now owns 1,364 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Core Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 1.7% during the second quarter. Core Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,968 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $625,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Lowery Thomas LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 0.7% in the second quarter. Lowery Thomas LLC now owns 7,607 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,602,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 1.1% in the second quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 4,505 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $949,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $242.84 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.67 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.94, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $244.63. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $230.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $221.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly 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. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The firm had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.41%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AAPL. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Apple to $256.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, November 1st. 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 research note on Friday, November 1st. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Moffett Nathanson cut their target price on shares of Apple from $211.00 to $202.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total value of $50,275,897.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. This represents a 6.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Insiders have sold 408,170 shares of company stock valued at $92,007,745 in the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.