Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC’s 7th Largest Position

Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC reduced its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,887 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 129 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 2.9% of Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $5,799,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the second quarter worth $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its stake in Apple by 88.9% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. Hoese & Co LLP boosted its stake in Apple by 6.7% during the second quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 912 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $175,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Sage Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Apple during the second quarter valued at $206,000. Finally, Benchmark Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the second quarter valued at $208,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL stock opened at $242.84 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.67 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.23. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $244.63. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $230.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $221.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $94.93 billion for 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 firm posted $1.46 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid 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 yield of 0.41%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on AAPL. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Loop Capital dropped their price target on Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Melius Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. New Street Research reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.68.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.86, for a total value of $13,550,347.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,944 shares in the company, valued at $111,148,695.84. This represents a 10.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total value of $13,802,497.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 187,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,309,126.60. This trade represents a 24.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 408,170 shares of company stock worth $92,007,745. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.