Clayton Financial Group LLC Purchases 4,168 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Clayton Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 12.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,862 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,168 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 3.2% of Clayton Financial Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Clayton Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $8,589,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 127.4% in the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 75,479 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $12,943,000 after acquiring an additional 42,282 shares during the last quarter. Addison Capital Co boosted its position in shares of Apple by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Addison Capital Co now owns 27,345 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,689,000 after purchasing an additional 1,208 shares during the period. SP Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Apple by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. SP Asset Management LLC now owns 193,732 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $33,221,000 after purchasing an additional 1,125 shares in the last quarter. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund raised its holdings in Apple by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund now owns 553,963 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $94,994,000 after buying an additional 16,694 shares during the period. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in Apple by 2.0% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 850,135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $145,781,000 after buying an additional 16,495 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $243.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $230.23 and its 200-day moving average is $221.05. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $244.54. The company has a market cap of $3.67 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.97, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.23.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 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 firm had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were given a $0.25 dividend. 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 currently 16.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. KeyCorp cut shares of Apple from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $236.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Monday. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Apple from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total value of $13,802,497.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 187,043 shares in the company, valued at $42,309,126.60. The trade was a 24.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total value of $50,275,897.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at $736,269,202.80. The trade was a 6.39 % 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 worth $92,007,745 over the last 90 days. Corporate 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.