Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Kessler Investment Group LLC’s Largest Position

Kessler Investment Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 53,439 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 718 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 6.4% of Kessler Investment Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Kessler Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $12,451,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the second quarter worth approximately $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Cordant Inc. raised its position in shares of Apple by 34.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 678 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $158,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the period. Hoese & Co LLP boosted its holdings in Apple by 6.7% in the second quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 912 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $175,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sage Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Apple during the second quarter valued at about $206,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL opened at $253.48 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.83 trillion, a P/E ratio of 41.69, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $233.64 and a 200-day moving average of $224.73. 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $253.83.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.39%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 16.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. Evercore ISI restated a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 26th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $236.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given 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.com, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.78.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of Apple 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,528,946.53. The trade was a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total transaction of $50,275,897.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. This trade represents a 6.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 408,170 shares of company stock valued at $92,007,745. 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.