Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 98,586 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 9,302 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 2.3% of Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $22,971,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Apple by 127.4% in the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 75,479 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $12,943,000 after purchasing an additional 42,282 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 761,774 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $130,629,000 after buying an additional 17,519 shares in the last quarter. Lavaca Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 171.4% in the 1st quarter. Lavaca Capital LLC now owns 42,930 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $7,362,000 after buying an additional 27,111 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LP boosted its stake in Apple by 97.3% in the first quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 157,833 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $27,065,000 after acquiring an additional 77,819 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 1.2% in the first quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 822,174 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $140,986,000 after purchasing an additional 10,031 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $253.48 on Wednesday. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $233.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $224.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.83 trillion, a P/E ratio of 41.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $253.83.

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, 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 analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.39%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,730 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.86, for a total transaction of $13,550,347.80. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $111,148,695.84. This trade represents a 10.87 % decrease in their position. 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 quarter. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup raised their price objective on Apple to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Apple to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. New Street Research restated a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. KeyCorp lowered shares of Apple from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson dropped their target price on shares of Apple from $211.00 to $202.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.78.

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.