Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Position Boosted by Dechtman Wealth Management LLC

Dechtman Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,367 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 987 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 1.1% of Dechtman Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Dechtman Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $5,444,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 1.3% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Verus Financial Partners Inc. increased its position in Apple by 0.3% in the 2nd 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% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Financial Advisory now owns 1,364 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $287,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 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 valued at $625,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $236.85 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $240.18 and a 200-day moving average of $229.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The company has a market capitalization of $3.58 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Apple’s payout ratio is 16.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $236.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $239.85.

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.